


Kiss Me With Adventure ('Til I Forget My Name)

by Summer_roses



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Famous Harry, Friends to Lovers, Louis braids Harry's hair a lot, M/M, Makeup Artist Louis, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, YouTuber Louis, and there's a shit ton of banter, they're both really bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 00:34:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7596373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_roses/pseuds/Summer_roses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is the big new thing in the music industry and in a mad search to find a makeup artist before his first ever world tour kicks off. Louis is an internet famous beauty guru/YouTuber who drinks too much tea and a habit of cursing excessively. When a fan tweets Harry the link to Louis' YouTuber channel it starts something neither of them could have ever imagined. </p><p>**</p><p>Based on the prompt: Harry's the biggest indie star in the music industry and just as his first world tour starts his makeup artist leaves. Harry's team is frantically searching for a new one but they can't seem to get a hold of one Harry actually likes?? Cue Harry, alone in his apartment a week before tour, he sees a tweet from a fan saying that "this is my favorite youtuber!! blah blah", Harry clicks it and there's youtuber!Louis who //conveniently// is also a beauty guru. Harry thinks he's cute n stuff but he also wants him on his team and all that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [larrysbeanies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/larrysbeanies/gifts).



> I loved all of the prompts and I had a really tough time deciding between them but I felt especially drawn to this one because I am an extreme makeup lover myself. I had so much fun with this fic and I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Special thanks and much love for my betas: Bella and Gloomy, you guys were so so amazing and I definitely couldn't have done it without you! 
> 
> *I mainly based Harry's tour schedule off of the OTRA tour dates with only a couple changes
> 
> Title is from "Cliff's Edge" by Hayley Kiyoko

1.

"I don't know what I'm going to fucking do." Harry mumbles. He's spread out on the couch that takes up half of the tiny living room of his best friend Niall's flat, with his head on the blond boy's lap and a beer resting on his chest. "She was the ninth one I've tried."

 

"What’s wrong with her now?" Niall asks, his voice exasperated.

 

"She didn't seem to get the fact that I wasn't into her and kept hitting on me." Harry groans, trying to erase the memory of the last three hours, which were spent avoiding her wandering questions and wandering hands. 

 

After his makeup artist, Lou, found out she was pregnant and quit, his team had gone into a frantic search to find a replacement. The timing wasn't ideal, to say the least. Harry, the biggest new indie artist in the industry, was about to start his very first world tour in two and a half weeks, which left a very short time to find someone satisfactory. And now, exactly one week before his first show, he's tried nine different makeup artists, none of which were good enough or one he just liked in general. 

 

"Mate, you can't be that picky. You're flying out to Sydney in a week, with or without a makeup artist, so you just need to get one who can make you look pretty and isn't an asshole. That can't be that hard, come on." Niall says, sighing. 

 

"This is really serious Niall, you don't get it.” Harry crosses his arms, rather petulantly.

 

"You're making this a bigger deal than it should be, really. Stop worrying, you know what, let's go out and get you laid. You've been under too much stress and when was the last time you actually got any real action besides your right hand? You need to get back into the scene, find someone cute, go on a couple dates. You've been so down lately I'm even getting second-hand sadness." Niall starts to get up, but Harry refuses to move his head so his dead weight in Niall's lap keeps him from moving.

 

"I'm fine. Also, you know I don't like the whole, one-night stand thing. Lastly, I don't exactly have time for a relationship right now. I'm about to go on a fucking world tour, unless I have someone willing to travel across the globe with me, I don't think it's going to work." Harry says, a slight sad twinge to his voice.

 

To be honest Harry disliked being single more than he let on. After he broke up with his last boyfriend Will three years ago, he hadn't found the time to even think about dating again, but he felt like something was missing; there was a part of him that longed for the early mornings and late night phone calls, someone who would hold him for as long as he needed and who he could actually see a future with. And sex, he really missed the sex, honestly. There was no shortage of it for him, he had people everywhere longing to hook up with him. He could easily go out to a club and pull anyone he chose if he wanted to, but waking up to a cold and empty bed and a thousand tabloid articles about who was the mysterious guy or girl seen leaving his flat just left him feeling empty. It just wasn't worth it for him anymore. 

 

"I mean, I certainly wouldn't complain if a world famous star came and whisked me around the world on a romantic adventure." Niall jokingly nudges Harry with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

 

"Is that your subtle way of hinting that you're into me?" Harry asks, mocking surprise. 

 

"Yup, I've been waiting for years and years for you to finally realize how in love with you I am."

 

“I've told you a billion times Niall, just because I like guys doesn't mean I like you." Harry jokes, his voice falsely serious but the light back in the conversation. "I mean you're hot and all, but I still don't want to bang you. Maybe if I'm drunk enough though." 

 

"That's pretty bloody offensive mate, if I were gay I'd bang you. You know what, you don't get to snuggle with me if you're going to deny how amazingly sexy I am." Niall objects before pushing Harry off his lap and tackling him, the two boys dissolving into a mess of limbs and laughter, the stress of before forgotten, at least for the moment. 

 

**

 

"Harry, I don't think you understand how serious this is! You have six days before your first concert, and unless you're going to pull a makeup artist out of your arse, I don't know what we're going to do. We've given you so many options, I don't know what you want, but we need to figure this out now!” Maria, his tour manager hangs up before he can answer, and Harry’s left alone in his flat with a headache from being lectured at for an hour, and no idea on how he's going to fix this. 

 

When they first started out on this quest to find the perfect makeup artist he had thought it was going to be easy to find a replacement, there were thousands of amazing makeup artists out there and surely one of them would want to join a world tour to kick start their career, right? 

 

Well, it turns out that the problem wasn't in finding someone who wanted the job, but finding someone Harry liked. Everyone who they tried out was either an asshole, way too interested in him or just didn't get his style. Some were better than others, one boy put on so many layers of mascara that Harry’s eyelashes looked like spider legs. He also put on so much bronzer on Harry that his entire face looked muddy. The other makeup artists behaved like angels in comparison. Except for maybe the first girl they tried, who was certainly talented, but didn’t listen to Harry when he said that he didn’t like over the top dark makeup and ended up giving him so much black eyeshadow and dark burgundy lipstick that he scared himself looking in the mirror. So after Harry turned down person after person, Maria had started to get pissed and she didn't hesitate to tell him so.

 

Harry runs his hands through his hair in frustration and lets out a loud exhale of breath before getting up to grab a glass of water. It's a Sunday night and after crashing at Niall's the night before with a few too many beers and cheesy rom-coms, he had spent the entire day at home trying to recover. And by recover, he meant laying on the couch, eating junk food and watching home makeover shows with all the blinds pulled down and the TV brightness on the lowest setting. He hadn't even given a thought about his upcoming tour until he had received a very angry phone call from Maria demanding he gave this problem some thought. 

 

Harry’s grateful for wearing socks as he steps into the kitchen, the tile cold enough to feel a chill even through his thick rainbow socks, something he had bought as a less than subtle hint about his sexuality for his fans. He isn't officially out of the closet, but there's only so many times that he can dodge questions about his sexuality without seeming suspicious. Trying to play off hook ups with guys as just friendly "hangouts" stopped working after multiple had been seen leaving his flat looking extremely disheveled, to say the least. Harry had broken up with Will before he became famous, so all the proof of their relationship was minor, and as they were always more of a private couple in the first place, it helped that there were very few photos of them together online. Of course, 90% of his fans were 100% sure that he wasn't straight, and every time he pulled a rainbow flag onstage and ran around with it draped over his shoulders it just added fuel to the fire. Not that Harry minded, of course. 

 

He grabs a cup that looks clean enough and fills it up with water from the nearest sink, too lazy to walk to the other side of the kitchen where his filtered water tap is. Harry had saved for months and months to be able to afford his flat. It's much bigger and nicer than anything he's owned before, but it's perfect for him and after six months of living here he's really settled in. The walls are covered in pictures and pieces of art he'd collected over time and the ledges and windowsills covered in house plants and other random assortments. 

 

His kitchen, though, is the feature of the flat. It's huge, almost the same size as the master bedroom and considering that he loves to cook and bake, he had put a lot of thought into the area. The walls are painted a pale blue and the white marble counters and pale birch wood cabinets give the room a big airy feel, along with big windows that flood the room with natural light.

 

But his favorite part is the corkboard that takes up the entirety of one wall. It's covered with pictures, polaroids, letters, postcards, concert tickets, photo booth slips, posters, holiday and birthday cards from his friends and family; the entire board is covered except for the top right corner where he's left about a square foot of space completely blank. When people ask Harry why he leaves it blank, he never answers. It isn't that he doesn't want to tell them, but he just doesn't know. For some reason, nothing feels right when he tries putting anything up there, so he just leaves it blank, and as the rest of the board gets covered with memories, that corner is left empty and waiting. 

 

He heads back to the couch with his water before unlocking his phone and opening up the Twitter app. As his fame had grown, he has made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t forget the people who had been there for him from the beginning. Though he can't follow as many fans anymore and his mentions increase by the thousands, he still tries to have as much interaction as possible. This means making short update videos and covers on his YouTube channel, having live-streams as often as possible, and going out of his way to talk to fans when he meets them in real life. 

 

Harry started out as just a boy on the internet doing covers of songs and eventually, writing his own. He had gained popularity on YouTube, gaining subscribers and views until a close friend of his mother's, who happened to own a small independent record label saw one of his videos and contacted him. He signed with them and started working on his first album. His big break though was going on to open for Ed Sheeran, on the European leg of his world tour. 

 

Harry gained a steady fan base from that, until he released his first single, which went on to have astonishing success, topping the charts and gaining him not only fame but an amazing amount of new fans. From then on, he continued to grow, having released a full album to follow his first EP and after its huge success; Harry had become one of the big new stars in the industry. Now, half a year after his first album, he has finally confirmed his own first world tour. Because of his very sudden rise to fame, he had tried extra hard not to let it get to his head, so Harry tried to respond to a couple fans every day. 

 

He answers a few questions about his upcoming tour and wishes a fan ‘Happy Birthday' before following two more fans who peak his interest. Harry’s about to turn off his phone, but suddenly a tweet catches his eye. It's from one of his most loyal fans, one Harry had followed for quite some time. She had been around since his YouTube days, so Harry had a soft spot for her, especially after she proved to be an amazing artist and provided him with the piece of fan art he used as his profile picture.

 

@hsfan_art56: @Harry_Styles you should check out my favorite youtuber; @Lous_Tomlinson  I think you'd really like him ;) 

 

Harry chuckles at her tweet when he sees the suggestive winky face; his fans often tried to set him up with people, the amount of fan accounts dedicated to "Narry" (the ship of him and Niall) was outrageous, and every time he as much as he talked to someone, there would be a thousand more accounts for the new ship. 

 

He scrolls to see that she's also tweeted a link to a YouTube account, assumedly for the boy she mentioned before, and Harry clicks on the link, out of plain curiosity. But when the page opens, he almost drops his phone in shock. Harry’s confronted with one of the most attractive human beings he's ever seen. He looks to be about Harry's age, with soft feathery light brown hair in a fringe that just brushes above his bright blue eyes that look almost unnaturally pigmented. The banner across the top of his channel page reads:

 

LOUIS TOMLINSON 

makeup artist, beauty guru, tea enthusiast

 

He seems to be very popular, with almost 3 million subscribers, and as soon as his channel trailer starts playing, Harry can see why. His voice is captivating, high and slightly raspy with a thick Yorkshire accent and he has an air of confidence that radiates out of him. He's delicate, and dainty, a strange combination of feminine with a rugged edge to him, and when he smirks at the camera you can tell he knows just how attractive he is. Harry just manages to pause the video, almost like breaking from a trance and races over to his laptop. He quickly logs in, pulls up YouTube and searches for "Louis Tomlinson". When he finds his channel, Harry scrolls through the videos before selecting a Q and A video posted two days ago.  

 

The video opens up and he's faced once again with the beautiful boy. Harry quickly clicks the full-screen option and stares in awe as Louis starts talking. 

 

Harry is immediately enchanted. He's blunt and funny and as the video progresses he can instantly tell that he has a great sense of humor. He also finds out that he is, in fact gay (and Harry tries to act like that fact doesn't make him as happy as it actually does), and he currently lives in London (but is originally from Doncaster). Louis thinks that brows are key to a complete look and he prefers brown hair over blonde (that too also makes Harry happier than he lets on). He interjects snarky comments throughout the video, interspersed with sips from his mug of tea (which has an image of a rainbow hand sticking up its middle finger blazed across the side) and a section of frantically muttered swear words when he spills some of said tea on himself. The whole thing is utterly endearing. 

 

As soon as the video ends, Harry scrolls down the page and selects another one. This video actually shows just how amazing he is with makeup, and even with his sarcastic comments and dirty language, he manages to completely transform his face, covering up the dark circles under his eyes and evening out his already flawless complexion while still looking natural. Harry realizes then that he wants this boy for his team. It has nothing to do with how attractive Louis is (well, maybe a tiny bit), but the fact that he seems to understand everything Harry likes, and  different from many of the other makeup artists Harry's tried, he doesn't seem to be interested in changing Harry’s appearance completely. Some of them had caked on products until Harry couldn't even recognize himself. 

 

Harry watches video after video, ranging from simple tutorials to extreme makeup looks, some done on himself other's done on a girl who Harry later learns is his sister, Lottie. He also has Halloween looks, including a scarily convincing zombie, a vampire (which is strangely hot on him and if Harry stores the image in the back of his head for later, well, nobody needs to know) a doll, and to his delight, a fairy (which entails a lot of golden highlighter and shimmery eyeshadow). Louis also has a few other Q and As, as well as random videos of him doing normal things, playing footie, hanging out with his mates, attempting to make pancakes (let's just say there was a lot of cursing during this video, the pancakes in question didn't exactly turn out as planned) and playing with his younger siblings.

 

The last ones hit Harry the hardest, there’s such a contrast between the brash, snarky, bold Louis in most of the videos and the soft, sweet, older brother that he turns into around his siblings. Seeing videos of him brushing bright pink blush and blue eyeshadow expertly onto his little sisters smiling faces made something stir inside Harry and make him force himself to remember that he doesn't even know Louis in real life, so he shouldn't be this taken with him. 

 

But as Harry watches Louis weave Daisy's hair into a waterfall braid while Phoebe paints his toenails silver, he can't help but smile. The scene is made even more adorable with his and Lottie's (who is currently filming) constant banter, only occasionally interrupted by Fizzy in the background. She has apparently decided that she doesn't look presentable enough to be in the video, so is sitting in a chair out of the shot. It's all rather sweet, to be honest. 

 

Harry goes through video after video until he looks up to the top right corner of his screen and almost gasps when he sees that he's spent the last three and half hours browsing Louis' channel. It's 12:47am, probably too late to expect a response, but he doesn't hesitate to send out an email to Maria, composed of only one short sentence and a link to a certain blue-eyed boy's Youtube channel.


	2. Chapter 2

2.

“Louis Tomlinson! When were you going to tell me that Harry has followed you on twitter?” This was the last thing Louis expected to hear when he accepted the call from his sister; the ringing waking him up and causing him to blindly answer before seeing who it was, just trying to shut it off. 

 

“What are you talking about?” he asks, Lottie’s words not processing yet.

 

“Have you checked twitter today? Because Harry Styles, the Harry Styles followed you last night!” she says, half yelling.

 

“I haven’t checked Twitter yet, if you didn’t realize that I was blissfully asleep, until you decided to call me at the crack of dawn.” Louis mumbles, still not fully realizing what she’s saying.

 

“First of all, it’s 1:17 in the afternoon. Two are you even listening to me? Like, why aren’t you freaking out? Harry Styles, arguably one of the best musicians of this time, has followed you... on twitter!” 

 

Finally, her words register and he shoots up, his eyes wide. 

 

“Wait, really?!” he exclaims, already grabbing his laptop and pulling up Twitter. Sure enough, his mentions have blown up with people tweeting him, all talking about Harry. He’s gained about 400 followers overnight and finally he sees the little notification: 

_ Harry Styles followed you.  _

 

“Did you see now?” Lottie asks, reminding him that she’s still on the phone.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know why, though. That’s so weird.” Louis had never been a big fan of Harry’s; he had nothing against him, but Harry just seemed like the kind of guy who thought his music taste was much better than yours, and drank overpriced juices and smoothies. Louis never really thought much about him; he liked a few of his songs and thought he was good looking, but there wasn’t any reason for Harry to follow him.

 

“Do you even follow him?” Lottie asks excitedly.

 

“No, never felt the need to follow him. I had a feeling all his tweets were stupid philosophical quotes I didn’t need in my life.” 

 

“I literally can’t believe this. Harry Styles follows my brother and he doesn’t follow him back. This is incredible.” Lottie almost squeals in delight. 

 

“Should I follow him? Is it rude not to? Like I don’t know what to do with this, should I tweet about it?” Louis clicks on Harry’s account to pull up his page.

 

“Follow him, and then become best friends with him so that I can meet him and braid his hair. That’s been a lifelong dream of mine.” 

 

“I don’t think that following each other on twitter makes us best friends, Lots. You’re getting a little ahead of yourself there.” Louis explains, trying to hide a fond smile at her excitement, as he does follows Harry back, and proceeds to start scrolling down his twitter, having never really looked at it before. His profile is close to what he imagined, just fewer quotes and more cryptic tweets with undetectable meanings. There are a lot of singular words and short sentences that make you wonder just what prompted them. And of course the usual promotional tweets about his upcoming tour and the release of his newest single and music video.

 

“Hey, you never know, maybe in like five years you guys will be best friends and I can be best friends with him through you.” 

 

Louis chuckles as she enthuses about his and Harry’s imaginary future friendship. “Sure, when I and Harry are living together, you can come over every Friday and braid his hair, okay?” he jokes.

 

“I can’t wait. Now, I’ve got to go, because, unlike you, I actually have a life and friends and things to do. We’re coming over Wednesday, so try to be prepared this time and actually clean up, maybe don’t leave open makeup on surfaces where people usually sit.” Lottie says. There had been…an accident, it was really just a simple mistake including an uncapped concealer on a chair, a pair of new white jean shorts and a lot of cursing (by Lottie directed at him). 

 

“It was an accident and I was in the middle of filming, it’s your fault for not looking before you sat down. Anyways, bye! Give mum and the other girls my love and tell them that I’ve got a surprise for them when they come, okay?” They end the call and Louis plugs his phone back into the charger before pulling his laptop from where it slid off his lap, and opening up his email to check if his newest load of products to try was shipped yet. 

 

But when his inbox loads, sitting on the top of the rest of the emails is one from an account he doesn’t recognize. It’s from someone named Maria Morris and the subject line of the email is just a simple ‘Hi!’. 

 

He clicks on it, curious to see what's it all about, and after reading it through once, he sits in shock. The email is apparently from Harry Style’s tour manager, and it says that they want him to join Harry on tour as his makeup artist. Louis rereads the email three more times, trying to understand if it’s a joke or if he’s actually imagining it. In the email, she explains how his past makeup artist left and that they were looking for a new one. 

 

Apparently someone on the team had seen one of his videos and told her that he, Louis, was the one for the job. It states that he would have all of his travel expenses paid as well as hotels and car services. Additionally, they would give him a budget to buy the products he wanted to use for Harry that according to her was “negotiable”. Finally, she gives him a link to her website, her phone number and tells him that if he’s considering it, he should contact her for more details. 

 

_ What the actual fuck. _

 

This can’t be real, there’s no way in hell that this is real. Like, he’s fairly well known in the beauty community, but he’s certainly not famous in any way. And it sounds too good to be true, a trip around the world basically for free, working with a world famous music star…this would extremely help to expand his career though. These kinds of things don’t just happen like this, you don’t randomly get emails giving you an offer for the job of a lifetime.

 

But it does makes sense. Why else would Harry Styles randomly following him? And it seems legit, the email is fancy, there are clear outlines and plans, and after a quick Google search, he can confirm that Maria Morris is the name of Harry's tour manager. So he does the first thing that comes into his mind and calls Lottie back.

 

**

 

After a three-hour phone call and a lot of screaming on her end, Lottie has convinced him to at least contact Maria and get the details. 

 

“Oh, why do you get all of the cool jobs?” Lottie grumbles as Louis drafts his email to Maria. 

 

“I think it’s just my good looks; people can’t help but fall for me. Now listen to this and tell me what you think.” Louis says before reading her his email. 

 

_ Hi, _

 

_ First off, I am so honored by this offer. I would be very happy to meet up to discuss the details and to have a trial with Harry so he can see if we’d get along. I’m fairly free for all next week, so if you could give me some dates that would also be good for you, I can try to find one that works. I look forward to meeting with you.  _

 

_ Sincerely, _

_ Louis Tomlinson _

 

“Well, what do you think? Do I sound really desperate?” Louis asks nervously.

 

“It’s fine, stop worrying and send it already! I can’t believe my brother is going to be best friends with Harry Styles. Now you have to let me meet him.” Lottie says, excitedly. 

 

“I’m going to have a professional relationship, I don’t think it’s polite to make him have to feel like I’m only after him as a fan. Also, he doesn’t seem like my kind of person you know? He’s hot but he seems pretentious. Stop trying to force me to become friends with him just so you two can take a selfie” Louis scolds. 

 

“I know, I know. But he isn’t pretentious at all. Apparently he’s a literal sweetheart and really down to earth. And you can’t deny he’s hot as fuck.” 

 

“It’s all PR, I bet he’s really an asshole. Being good looking doesn’t make you a nice person.” 

 

“I know, you’re a perfect example.” 

 

“Oh fuck off, I’m going to go film. Bye.” Louis says, rolling his eyes.

 

“You know I’m right. Bye.”

 

Louis hangs up and, after adding his phone number, he sends the email, the feeling of something new flooding his mind. 

 

**

 

Two hours and one tutorial later, Louis is washing the makeup off, having nowhere to wear it to. He had done an interesting look, featuring a bright turquoise lip and a bronze eye look. As a male makeup guru, he received an overwhelming amount of hate. And being gay didn’t exactly help. His comments were flooded with hate and derogatory names. At first, it bothered him a lot; he disabled comments on his videos for a while and would only post videos of him doing makeup on Lottie or some of his other female friends. 

 

But then he realized that he actually didn’t give a fuck about what a stranger on the internet thought about him, so he re-enabled comments and posted a full on night time look video done on himself. And the hate was extremely outnumbered by the support from his fans, so he just stops caring. He was the happiest he had ever been, he was doing what he loved, he was surrounded by friends and family and he had a huge fanbase. Louis was working with a big name makeup brand to come out with his own line of cosmetics, and everything seemed to be going for him.

 

As he leaves his bathroom, his face freshly washed and bare, his phone starts ringing from where he left it by his “filming chair”. He walks over and answers, the number unknown. 

 

“Hello?” he says, stifling a yawn. 

 

“Is this Louis Tomlinson?” the voice is cool and professional, scarily important sounding. 

 

“Yes. Who is this?” he asks cautiously. 

 

“This is Maria Morris, we’ve been in contact about the job offering.” He instantly perks up in surprise, his heart racing anxiously. 

 

“Oh, of course! Hi!” he says before cursing himself for sounding so stupid.

 

“Hello. So I understand that you live in London, we have our main office there as well which works out great. Because you seem to be fairly nearby I was wondering if you could come in for a meeting. I’ll send you the exact time and our address, but maybe at around 11:35 or so? Sorry that everything is so rushed but the tour is starting so soon and you know how it is.”

 

“Yes, yes I totally get it.” (To be honest Louis has no idea how these things work as like most people he hasn’t exactly been in this type of situation before but he decides to just go along with her, not wanting to come off as rude.) “That sounds great.” he agrees, bouncing on his toes and trying to keep his voice steady. 

 

“Okay, we’ll be in contact again soon. Goodbye for now, Mr. Tomlinson.” She hangs up before he can answer leaves him standing in his living room, surrounded by makeup and excitement. 

 

**

 

“Thank you, now Mr. Styles wants meet with you before we finalize everything, but so far, I’m almost certain you’ll get the job.” Maria says, standing up signalizing the end of the meeting. 

 

Louis arrived at the huge Seigle Management building at 11:30 and rushed up to the meeting room (307 to be precise) she had requested. There he had met with Maria, who was a middle aged attractive brunette, who, despite her extremely intimidating demeanor, was quite lovely, and had made the hour and a half discussion as enjoyable as a meeting and job interview that long could be. 

 

“Okay sure, when would that be?” he asks, standing up and stretching, his back and bum sore from sitting on a hard wood chair for way too long.

 

“Now if that would be fine. Luckily for us Harry is currently here for a meeting of his own and I think it would be best if you could try to get it done as soon as possible.” Maria replies, stopping him mid-stretch in shock. 

 

“Oh! Really?” Louis exclaims, surprised. 

 

“Is that okay?” she asks.

 

“Yes, yes,  it’s totally fine, I was just surprised, that’s all.”

 

“There’s a reason I told you to bring your supplies.” she points out. “Harry is out of his meeting in…” Maria checks her phone before finishing her sentence. “Ten minutes. Is that long enough for you to set up? You can go downstairs to room 210, there’ll be a makeup table that you can use and I’ll tell Harry to meet you there.” she says before promptly leaving the room. She seems to have a habit of leaving conversations proper mutual goodbyes, an air of confidence and dominance.

 

Louis slowly gathers his things. Maria had told him to bring his kit, but he hadn’t understood why until now. Louis hadn’t expected that he would be actually meeting Harry today, and suddenly the situation seems too real. This is actually happening. He is about to go put makeup on someone he’s only seen on magazine covers and at awards shows on TV; Lottie would die to be him. 

 

At that thought, he pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to Lottie  _ “Guess who's about to meet Harry Styles?” _ before heading over to the elevator, smiling at the thought of how jealous she’s going to be. 

 

**

 

Once he found the room (which is much bigger and fancier than he expected, but then again, so is everything in this building) he sets up, laying out his products and double checking his brushes to make sure they’re clean (and double checking his hair because he has to admit that Harry is good looking and if a small part of him wants to impress him then fuck it, he will). 

 

He’s in the middle of adjusting his jumper so the top of his chest tattoo is peaking out when there’s a soft knock on the door.

 

Louis heart drops to his stomach, strangely suddenly nervous. He walks over to the door and takes a deep breath before slowly turning the doorknob and pulling the door open. He looks up and his breath catches. Standing in front of him is the one and only Harry Styles. Harry’s standing there, smiling gently with his hair pulled back in a bun and a small dimple showing; the definition of gorgeous. Louis slowly drags his eyes over Harry’s body, his legs covered in impossibly skinny jeans, his muscular arms covered in tattoos and then right up to meet his eyes. When he looks up and he sees that Harry is already looking at him, Louis realizes that he must have seen Louis staring at him and his fears are confirmed when Harry gives him a knowing look. Louis flushes and loudly clears his throat. 

 

“Um, hi. I’m Louis, Louis Tomlinson. The makeup artist.” he stammers finally, holding out his hand and cursing himself for being so awkward. 

 

“Harry Styles.” Harry responds shaking his outstretched hand. His palm is warm and slightly rough and completely envelops Louis’ much smaller one. It’s more distracting than he’d like to admit.

 

“Nice to meet you.” Louis says, still mesmerized by Harry’s eyes. 

 

“You too.” 

 

There’s a pause where neither of them knows what to do before Louis speaks up. 

 

“Do you want to start?” he asks nodding towards the makeup chair. 

 

“Sure, I’m ready if you are.” Harry says, smiling and making Louis want to curse him for being so damn attractive. 

 

_ Snap out of this, you’re a professional _ . Louis thinks to himself before looking back up at Harry and smiling. “Okay, good.” 

 

As Harry sits down in the chair Louis takes a second to collect himself.  _ You can do this, Louis. He’s just attractive. You’ve met plenty of attractive people before. He’s just the most gorgeous person you’ve ever met. No big deal. _ With that, Louis turns to face Harry, who starts and looks away, having obviously been staring at Louis (that makes Louis happier than he’ll admit). 

 

“So what do you like? Is there anything you want me to do in particular?” he asks, determined to treat this like any other job. 

 

“Um, I don’t really care. I don’t like dark extreme stuff, air on the side of natural. Is that okay?” Harry says, his voice slow, deep and the definition of sexy.  _ Control yourself, Louis _ . 

 

“Whatever you want is what I’ll do.” Louis says before going over to the table and selecting a primer. “Is your face clean?” 

 

“Yeah, I just washed it. Is that okay?” 

 

“Perfect.” Louis says before turning back to Harry, the primer in hand. “Okay, I’m just going to prime your face first before I start.” he explains, squeezing some of the product onto his fingertips. 

 

“Fine by me, you’re the professional.” Harry says, staring Louis straight in the eye, making him blush the tiniest bit. 

 

Louis takes a finger from his other hand and dots the product all over Harry’s face before taking a beauty blender and dabbing the primer into Harry’s face until it’s entirely buffed in. 

 

As he blends it in, Harry closes his eyes and his face softens, dark eyelashes fanning out over his pale cheeks, and his mouth falling open the tiniest bit as his jaw fully relaxes. It’s positively angelic.   

 

As Louis goes on to blend in foundation and concealer Harry stays silent, having opened his eyes and is now watching Louis’ every move and examining everything he does in wonder. It’s nerve wracking and Louis is 100% on edge as he can feel Harry’s green eyes burning into him. It’s not until Louis has moved onto bronzer when Harry speaks up. 

 

“How long have you been into makeup?” 

 

Louis is surprised for a second and pauses before answering. “Well, I would always do my sisters’ makeup as a kid and then I realized how much I liked it.” 

 

“That’s nice. Your sisters must love having a professional makeup artist for a brother. I know I would.” 

 

“Do you have any siblings?” Louis asks, deciding to skip blush and moving onto eyebrows. 

 

“Only one, my sister Gemma.”

 

“Older or younger?”

 

“Older by three years. I’ve always wanted a younger sibling, though, I love little kids.” Harry confesses, his eyes lighting up. 

 

“Well, I’ve sure got enough of those. Let me tell you, it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, after a while, they stop being so cute.” Louis says. He’s currently lightly filling in Harry’s eyebrows, something that in his opinion, is the key to a flawless makeup look. 

 

“Do you want kids?” Harry suddenly asks. Louis is taken aback by the upfront question but answers almost instantly. 

 

“Of course, always have. I love them, as annoying as they are. You?”

 

“One hundred percent.” There’s a comfortable lull in the conversation, where Louis inspects his work on Harry’s eyebrows before grabbing an eyeshadow palette and selecting a light neutral color for the base. 

 

He’s in the middle of dusting on a light shimmery gold onto Harry’s lid when his phone starts ringing loudly. 

 

“Shit, sorry!” he curses grabbing it and checking to see who it is. “Oh, it’s my sister, she’s probably freaking out because I’m with you.”

 

“Is she a fan?” Harry asks.

 

“You could say that. It’s fine, I can call her back later.” Louis says about to click ‘Decline’.

 

“I’ll talk to her if you want. Put her on the phone.” Harry offers. 

 

“It’s really fine, you don’t have to do that.” Louis reassures, but Harry reaches out and takes his phone, picking up and putting her on speaker. 

 

“Louis William Tomlinson! I can’t believe you! You get to meet Harry Styles and I’m stuck here babysitting our neighbor’s kids. You know the bratty ones that don’t know how to share? You have all the luck, this isn’t fair!” Lottie’s voice explodes from the phone, making Harry laugh. When she pauses to take a breath Harry speaks up.

 

“Hello.” Harry says causing her to audibly gasp.

 

“No fucking way.”

 

“This is Harry, I heard you were a fan.” At his words Lottie starts to scream.

 

“Omg, this is incredible! Yes I am a fan, I love your new album so much!” she squeals, and Louis can just see her face as she gushes to Harry about how much she loves him. 

 

Louis continues to work on Harry’s eyes, highlighting his brow bone and inner corner, lightly smoking out his under eye with a pale nude before brushing on the lightest coat of mascara as Harry and Lottie chat, starting off with his latest album but slowly turning into a conversation about music in general. Though Louis has only heard of about a third of the bands and artists they mention, something about hearing Harry being so kind to his sister makes him like this boy ten times more, and he listens intently to their conversation. And when Harry finally says goodbye with a promise to talk again, Louis can’t help but smile at the interaction. 

 

By the time Harry hangs up Louis has completely finished his eye look and is just touching up final bits and pieces before putting on a light rose colored tint on Harry’s lips, just adding a tinge of pink to their already pigmented color. 

 

“Thank you for being so nice to her, you really didn’t have to.” Louis comments, stepping back to inspect the whole look. Being honest with himself, he’s done a great job; everything is subtle, but just there enough to give a glowy-sun kissed look to Harry’s skin and the green is his eyes pops out and contrasts with the pale pink of his lips. 

 

“It was my pleasure, your sister is lovely.” Harry says, smiling.

 

“Only when she wants to be. Now, do you like your makeup?” Louis asks, trying to hide that he’s freaking out inside. 

 

Harry walks closer to the mirror and inspects his face, turning to see different angles and sides before answering.

 

“It’s amazing, honestly Louis, you’ve done an incredible job.” Harry breaths before turning back to Louis who is nervously bouncing on his toes. “I need to go check with my team to see how they like it, if you could just wait here that would be great.” 

 

“That’s fine.” Louis says brightly, though inside he’s dying of nerves. 

 

Harry quickly exits the room, leaving Louis alone with his thoughts. The first thing he does is curse himself for being such an obvious idiot.

 

“You idiot!” he whisper-yells to himself, banging his head on the wall in frustration. 

 

It wasn’t the makeup he was worried about but instead the fact that he’s made a completely fool of himself, just because he doesn’t know how to act around someone that attractive. And the worst part is, Harry is just attractive he seems to be incredibly sweet. Louis hasn’t met that many pop stars but he assumes that most of them would have not only spoken to Lottie but gone out of their way to make conversation. 

 

And he was kind of lying when he said it wasn’t the makeup he was worried about. He has to admit he had done a good job and Harry seems to think so as well but you can never know, Harry’s team might hate the look, Harry might have just been lying, he could just not be his type of makeup artist. There’s no guarantee of anything right now. 

 

As the minutes tick by Louis grows more and more anxious, worried that at any moment someone will pop in and tell him that they hate everything they did. It’s not that he needs the job, he’s perfectly happy with his own life but it’s not like it wouldn’t be nice to get it either. He knows it’s a very big deal and he hasn’t ever worked with a celebrity this big, they could opt for someone much more famous with much more experience and he wouldn’t blame them at all. 

 

They’d be taking a chance on him, sure he’s got his fans but he’s well known in the Youtube world, not as much in the actual makeup world. His name is known, it’s not like he’s a nobody and he’s definitely had some big jobs but nothing like this. 

 

After Harry’s been away for twenty minutes Louis starts to get antsy, pacing back and forth and playing with the sleeves of his jumper, trying to distract himself from the growing ball of anxiety in his stomach. He’s so focused on trying to stay calm he almost doesn’t notice Harry coming back in, it’s not until Harry clears his throat that he looks up. 

 

“Oh, hi!” Louis exclaims, startled by the noise.

 

“Hi, so I talked to my team and they really seemed to like it. I’m not exactly sure how all the paperwork is going but if that all works out I think you’ve got yourself the job.” 

 

As soon as the words come out of Harry’s mouth Louis can’t help but grin, letting out the breath it feels like he’s been holding for the past half an hour. 

 

“Oh wow, that’s amazing!” Louis manages to get out, still in shock from the good news.

 

Harry reaches out his hand for Louis to shake. “I look forwards to working with you Louis Tomlinson.”

 

Louis takes Harry’s hand (praying his palm isn’t too sweaty) and shakes it firmly. “Right back at you.” 

 

_ _


	3. Chapter 3

3.

“So, tell me more about this whole tour thing.” It’s Wednesday, the day after Louis met with Harry and Maria. His family came over, everyone wanting to know about Harry and how everything happened so quickly. After dinner, Dan and the girls went home; homework and work needing to be done, but Jay stayed for a cup of tea and a more private talk. 

 

“Well, I’m flying out to Sydney Thursday and arriving Friday, Harry’s first show is Saturday and he has another Sunday as well. He starting off in Australia, so we’re going  to be going all over  over there for about two weeks, before a few days off, and then he’s staring the Asian leg of his tour, in Japan.” Louis explains.

 

“And Harry? How is he?” Jays asks curiously. 

 

“He’s lovely, really. I bet you heard all about him from Lottie, but he was surprisingly sweet.” Louis says, unconsciously smiling.

 

“That’s good. I’ve heard nice things about him. You’re going to have to call me every day, give me updates from across the world. I’m going to miss you, Boo, this is an incredible opportunity, but don’t forget us when you’re off being famous.” Jay says, reaching out to lightly cradle his face with her warm soft hand.

 

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll be missing you ten times more, and the girls. I’ll come visit as much as I can, promise.” Louis promises, slightly sad at the thought of having to leave his family for so long. He’s always lived close by, his family had moved to London shortly after he did, and he tries to have dinner with them at least once a week, if possible, so being away from months is a frightening thought. 

 

“You better, but who knows, maybe something amazing will come out of this!” Louis smiles at her excitement.

 

“Maybe so.” 

 

**

 

“How much are you bringing?” Liam exclaims as soon as he walks into Louis room, and sees the three suitcases lying open with contents spilling out everywhere. Liam is Louis’ best friend, having met when they were kids and gone through everything together. Liam has his own YouTube channel, though not for makeup, for personality, as well as posting some of his own music. He’s not as popular as Louis, but he still has a huge following and gets stopped almost as much for pictures as Louis when they go around London. He’s come over for moral support and to ‘supposedly’ help Louis pack. 

 

“I have to be prepared for everything, now, if I could just find my blush palette…” Louis mumbles, looking around for the palette in question. He’s spent the last day frantically packing for the tour, trying to find out everything he’s going to need. It’s currently two hours before he needs to leave for the airport, and to say he’s not ready would be a gross understatement. Much of the makeup he will be purchasing there, as they are giving him a budget to get new products just for Harry, but he still wants to bring some of his own. 

 

“Do you really need to bring this many pairs of skinny jeans? It’s going to be really hot when you’re there, I don’t think you need five… no, six pairs of black skinny jeans, mate.” Liam asks inspecting his luggage. 

 

“Fine, take out one pair but that’s it. I need to be prepared.” Louis says, grabbing a bottle of hand cream and tossing it in his direction. “Can you put this in a plastic bag for me and put it in the side pocket of the red bag? Thanks.” 

 

“I’m not your personal slave.” Liam mutters, but grabs a bag from the pile by his door and does what Louis requested. 

 

“If you say so. Now, tell me, which one should I bring?” Louis asks, holding up two pairs of almost identical aviators. 

 

Liam doesn’t even look up but answers anyways, clearly knowing that what he says doesn’t matter. “The ones on the left.”

 

“You didn’t actually look.” Louis whines but stashes the left pair in its box and places the box in his backpack.

 

“Lottie just texted me, your family is coming over so I’d suggest that you finish packing soon,” Liam warns, checking his phone. 

 

“First, why do you talk with my family more than I do? Second, can’t you see I’m trying-oh! There you are!” Louis exclaims, triumphantly holding up the blush pallette he had been searching for. “Now if I can find that setting spray, I’ll be all set with makeup.”

 

“It’s literally right there, like, it’s sitting on your dresser.” Liam points to the dresser, which, in fact, has the thin white bottle he was looking for, sitting obviously on top.

 

“You’re a savior Li!” Louis says , running over and grabbing it.

 

Liam rolls his eyes, but says fondly, “You’re such an idiot, I don’t think you could survive without me.”

 

“I could.”

 

“Your fly is undone, you have a streak of something on your pants, you’re leaving in…one hour and thirty-six minutes, and you’re not fully packed yet.” 

 

“Well, maybe if you would help me instead of texting my family, I could get this done.” Louis grumbles. 

 

“You’re a mess.” Liam mutters before starting to refold Louis’ luggage, rolling his eyes as Louis flips him off in response.

 

They somehow manage to get everything packed and ready with twenty minutes to spare and are sitting in Louis’ living room, watching some shit reality show, when Louis’ family arrives, a bustle of noise. 

 

They spend the last few minutes sharing a rather tearful goodbye, Louis getting completely mobbed by little girls and hugs and handing out kisses and promises to bring them all back something cool from everywhere he visits. It’s really a big affair.

 

Finally, Louis is standing outside his flat, saying his last goodbyes, his eyes teary though he might deny it, and he does a last round of hugs. Last is Jay who gives him an extra long hug, and whispers in his ear “Good luck!” before pressing a quick kiss to the side of his head and sending him off to the car. Liam is already waiting, having offered to drive him to the airport, and as Louis climbs in the passenger seat, Liam gives him a small smile. 

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll look after them for you.”

 

“Thanks Li.” Louis says, smiling back at Liam before turning around and rolling down his window, waving and frantically blowing kisses to his small crowd of a family as they pull away.

 

As they round the corner, the last thing he hears is Lottie yelling is, “Give Harry a kiss for me!” before everyone is out of sight, and he’s left with a heart full of fondness and a stomach full of butterflies. 

 

**

 

“Ah, thank God.” Louis says, collapsing onto the big hotel bed. After being in transit for over a day and on a plane for over 20 hours, he feels like every bit of energy has been drained from him. He slept on the plane, but nothing can really replace an actual bed and a private toilet.

 

He lies there for five minutes before mustering the strength to get up, text Jay that he’s arrived at the hotel and take a quick shower, trying to wash the smell of airport off of him. It’s 10:23 PM, Sydney time, and even though it’s nine hours ahead of London and he should be wide awake, he’s exhausted from flying. As soon as he gets into bed, he falls right asleep, hair freshly washed, the smell of planes out and replaced with coconut and grapefruit. 

 

**

 

“Louis!” Louis starts and turns to find the source of the voice. He’s surprised to see that it’s none other than Harry Styles walking towards him, smiling. It’s the morning before Harry’s first concert and everyone is on edge; all the crew is snappy and Maria has had about three screaming fits already. Anticipation is high and Louis has been awkwardly trying to find a place to hang out until he’s needed.

 

“Hi!” Louis greets the star, getting up from the stool he’s been sitting on for the past twenty minutes. “Do you need me now?” 

 

Up close Louis can see each individual curl and it’s very distracting. Harry’s voice brings him back to the conversation.“No, I’m fine. I was just wondering what you were doing.”  

 

“I’m just trying to not to get yelled at, but actually thinking of it, I’m probably going to get a cuppa. I could use something right now.” Louis answers, clearing his throat and praying Harry didn’t catch him staring. 

 

“I’ll join you, if that’s okay with you.” Harry says, taking Louis by surprise.

 

“Oh, okay! Doesn’t the all important popstar have somewhere to be though?” Louis asks as they start to walk.

 

“Heeey, don’t call me that, ‘m not a real popstar.” Harry drawls, knocking Louis’ shoulder with his own.

 

“Sure, sure. Doesn’t the ‘musical genius’ have somewhere to be besides hanging out with a lowly makeup artist?” Louis says,  rolling his eyes and trying to conceal a fond smile.

 

“Actually no, and I think it’s important to get to know you, as you will be in charge of whether I look hot or not for the next, like, seven months.” 

 

“So, you agree that you’re a ‘musical genius’?” Louis questions, raising an eyebrow and nudging Harry with his elbow.

 

“No, no. I prefer ‘musical prodigy,’ to be honest.” Harry says, mockingly serious.

 

Louis plays along, pretending to be embarrassed. “Oh, I’m so sorry, is ‘Your highness’ okay as well?” 

 

“Of course, you must respect me now as you are just a peasant in my kingdom.” 

 

“Would you like me to feed you grapes while you lie on a velvet couch and have skimpily dressed women fan you?” 

 

“Make it shirtless men covered in glitter and I’m in.” Harry says before realizing just exactly what he said and freezing for a second, panic filling his eyes. 

 

Noticing this, Louis plays it off, determined to show Harry that it’s okay. “Glitter and abs, what more do you need in life?” And then everything’s okay again, the moment brushed over and a new sense of friendship growing between the two. And when Harry gives Louis a grateful smile, a shared understanding passes between them and they walk on, the subject steering to how to take your tea and away from the dangerous territory of before. 

  
  


**

 

“Can I ask you a question?” It’s about two hours before the show, the soundcheck and meet and greet finished and Louis has been trying to get Harry ready for twenty minutes. When Louis had arrived at Harry’s room, Harry had been pacing anxiously, tugging at his hair and muttering under his breath. After some prodding, Harry revealed that he was incredibly nervous for the show, so Louis had taken it upon himself to calm him down. After spending fifteen minutes styling Harry’s hair (something that seemed to really relax him) and convincing him that he would be amazing, Harry had somewhat settled down, or at least enough for him to be still enough for Louis to do his makeup.

 

“Sure” Harry says, still sounding nervous.

 

“Would you mind, it’s totally fine if you don’t want to do this, but do you think I could get a video for my instagram?” Louis asks, nervously. He had been afraid all day to ask Harry how much he could post about him, but he had finally worked up the courage to ask him the question that had been burning in his mind all day. 

 

Harry pauses for a second before answering. “Of course, it’s totally fine.” Louis almost sighs in relief; he had been afraid that Harry would take offense at the question, thinking that Louis was using him for fame.  

 

“Thank you so much!” Louis says, propping his phone up against a book so Harry is focused in the frame and starts the video. 

 

Harry’s put his headphones in, so Louis lets him be, having learned that when people have their headphones in, it’s best not to bother them. 

 

He starts his usual routine, priming Harry’s skin and blending in a light layer of foundation in silence, but as he starts Harry’s eyebrows Harry takes his headphones out and speaks up. 

 

“Will you help me pick out an outfit?” 

 

“Don’t you have someone for that?” Louis asks, biting his tongue in concentration as he fixes Harry’s left eyebrow, setting the hairs with a brown brow gel. 

 

“Yeah, but I trust your opinion more.” Harry says, an indescribable tone to his voice.

 

Louis cocks an eyebrow, picking up an eyeshadow palette full of neutrals and roses. “And why’s that?” 

 

“Well, you seem to dress yourself quite well, so I assume that you have pretty good fashion sense. Though, I think that you could wear anything and make it look hot with your body.” Louis starts coughing, his face flushing at Harry’s blunt flirting but he recovers quickly, determined not to let the currently smirking curly haired boy get to him.

 

“Thank you very much, but you're the one with legs for days. I’d die for them.” Louis says. He’s currently blending a soft beige into Harry’s crease, the color accentuating the green in Harry’s eyes, and once done with that patting a light, shimmery champagne onto his lids. 

 

“You see, I’m so clumsy, all my legs do is get in my way.”

 

“I think it’s cute.” Louis protests, smiling even more when he sees Harry blush at the compliment, the younger boy not knowing how to respond. 

 

“What’s your opinion on rose gold?” Louis asks, dramatically changing the subject.

 

“If you think it’ll look good then do it.” At Harry’s permission Louis takes the second color on the palette, a shimmery rose with soft golden undertones and blends it in with the champagne color already there. 

 

“I just wanted to thank you again for talking to Lottie the other day, I don’t think you understand how happy it made her. You’re basically her favorite person in the world.” Louis says offhandedly, taking the lightest shade, a shade of extremely pale eggshell and highlighting the inner corner and browbone, adding dimension to Harry’s eyes and completing the eyeshadow look. He finally lines Harry’s eyes with a soft brown eyeliner and lightly smudges it out to make sure his eyes are really defined. 

 

“It was no problem, if you give me her social media, I’ll follow her if you want.”

 

“She’d love that, but you really don’t have to”

 

“I’m really fine with it, she seemed like a really interesting person.” 

 

“You’re too nice to her, she’s already too full of herself without having a celebrity follow her. Now let me get your eyelashes.” He quickly curls them and adds a virtually invisible layer of mascara, just enough for definition but not enough to look unnatural.

 

They stay quiet as Louis adds a tiny bit of concealer, just under his eyes and over few spots that need the extra coverage before setting Harry’s under eyes with a light powder. He then grabs a pale pink tinted balm to just enhance the color of Harry’s lips before finishing off with bronzer and his favorite highlighter, setting everything with a translucent powder so that Harry doesn’t look oily or sweaty onstage under the lights.  After misting Harry’s face with a long-lasting setting spray, to make sure everything stays, Louis gives him a once over before going  over to his phone to stop the video. 

 

Harry gets up and examines his face closely, Louis nervously waiting for his response “You’ve done a wonderful job, Lou.” Harry says, the nickname slipping out without warning and making a feeling of...something flutter in Louis’ stomach. 

 

“Thanks, I’m glad you like it.” Louis says, walking over to where Harry is standing in front of the mirror, relieved. 

 

“I love it, really. You’re amazing.” Harry says, turning to face Louis. “Do you want a photo to post?” 

 

“Oh, sure. That would be great.” Louis takes a quick photo of Harry’s look and they say a quick goodbye before Harry leaves. Louis spends the next fifteen minutes speeding up the video he took into a timelapse, adding music (one of Harry’s songs because it just makes sense) and posting it to his instagram followed quickly by tweeting the photo, tagging Harry in both as well as sending both to Lottie just to make her jealous that he gets to put shimmery eyeshadow on Harry Styles for a living. It’s great.

 

**

 

Louis spends the remaining time before the show hanging out with Harry, as the minutes slowly tick down, Harry slowly gets more and more nervous. Louis is trying his hardest to distract him by cracking as many stupid jokes and basically just making a fool of himself. There’s something about their personalities where they’re just compatible, the conversation just flows and though they’ve only known each other for a few days, Louis is already taken with Harry. 

 

It’s the little things he does that get to Louis, when he runs his hands through his hair, when he makes quiet puns under his breath, the way he talks, slowly and deliberately, they’re all udderly endearing. And for such a celebrity, he’s incredibly down to earth, you wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s world famous.

 

At one point, Harry dares Louis to climb up on top of the huge wardrobe in the corner (well, Louis dares Harry to dare him, because he really wants to have an excuse to see if he can do it). After an immense struggle where Louis almost breaks it the wardrobe twice, he manages to get on top and procedes to celebrate. 

 

Harry takes a picture of him up there, his legs neatly crossed and winking at the camera, and tweets it, captioning the photo: 

 

I think he did this just so he could see what it’s like to be tall for once @Louis_Tominson. 

 

This makes Louis promptly flip him off when he sees it and replies: 

 

@Harry_Styles fuck off, I’m 5’9” 

 

When Harry sees Louis’ reply, he starts laughing, and quickly types something out, sending Louis a smirk from across the room.

 

@Louis_Tomlinson whatever helps you sleep at night.

 

Louis decides that the only proper response is a tasteful:

 

@Harry_Styles Fuck you. 

 

**

 

“I’m going to be sick.” Harry groans, holding his stomach. It’s five minutes before he’s needed on stage and the last twenty minutes have been a panic. Louis has been just trying to stay out everyone’s way, occasionally checking in on Harry, who’s having a minor (major) freak out.

 

“You’re going to be amazing, they all love you. Even if you suck, which you definitely don’t, no one will care. This is just a normal concert okay? You’re captivating onstage, there’s no need to worry, yeah?” Louis says, lighting massaging Harry’s back as he comforts him. 

 

The opening act, a new emerging band, are almost done with their performance; they were good, and the crowd seemed to like them, but the screams for Harry are almost deafening, even backstage. 

 

“But what if-” Harry starts but Louis cuts him off.

 

“Everything’s going to be perfect, alright? Just go onstage and be your amazing self and it’ll be perfect. You're going to be totally fine.”

 

Harry offers a weak smile, looking the tiniest it better. “Thanks, Lou.” 

 

A member of the crew finally comes over and tells Harry it’s time for him to go on, guiding Harry over to where he’s going to enter. Louis can hear the opening video playing and the crowd screaming, it’s incredible. 

 

Harry turns back to Louis looking nervous, his eyes flashing with fear, so Louis makes up his mind and runs over to Harry. He opens his arms and the taller boy basically flings himself into Louis’ arms. 

 

“Good luck, love.” Louis says, adding on the endearment unconsciously, and Louis gives Harry one last squeeze before Harry takes a deep breath and bursts onstage, the band starting up his opening song, and the crowd exploding. 

 

**

 

The show, as expected, goes beautifully. The crowd was extremely receptive and the lighting was incredible, making the show ten times better. But of course, Harry was the best part. He worked the crowd, reading signs, making stupid jokes, telling little stories, jokingly hitting on random members of the crowd (if this makes Louis the tiniest bit annoyed for some reason, nobody needs to know) and all the songs go off without a hitch. His voice is fresh, as it being the first show so he hits all his notes (except for one where it cracks just slightly but the crowd didn’t seem to mind) and he’s captivating. 

 

When he comes offstage after the encore he runs straight to Louis and pulls him into a hug, picking his feet straight off the ground and whirling him around. He’s sweaty and it’s kind of gross, but Louis doesn’t care, and hugs him just as tightly back.

 

“I told you! I told you you’re amazing!” Louis cheers as soon as Harry puts him back down.

 

“I didn’t mess up, or forget the words and my voice only cracked once and…” Harry trails off, catching his breath.

 

“I know, you were great, Harry.” Louis says, smiling fondly at the excited boy.

 

“It was incredible. I can’t believe I get to do this for a living.” Harry marvels in wonder.

 

“Harry!” A female voice yells and suddenly Harry is basically tackled by a girl. 

 

“Gem, I did it!” Harry says excitedly and as the girl pulls, away Louis suddenly recognizes her. He’s only seen her in photos on Harry’s instagram (not that he spent all of one night stalking his social media), and the resemblance is even more obvious in real life. 

 

“You didn’t suck, surprisingly.” Gemma teases, knocking Harry’s shoulder with her own.

 

“Heeeey, I’m going to tell Mum that you’re being mean.” Harry says. “Where is she anyway?”

 

And if on cue, a brunette woman comes rushing over, hugging Harry tightly and placing a thousand kisses all over his cheeks.

 

“You were amazing! I’m so proud of you.” Anne gushes, wiping her eyes which are clearly tearing up.

 

“Oh, don’t cry, or else I’ll start crying.” Harry says, his voice so full of love Louis’ heart almost explodes. It’s as if right then and there that Harry remembers Louis’ presence. Harry turns around and grabs Louis’ wrist, pulling him forwards gently. 

 

“Guys, this is Louis. He’s my new makeup artist.” Harry says as Louis awkwardly waves.

 

“Oh! I know you, you have that YouTube channel, right? I love your videos.” Gemma exclaims excitedly. “Why do you get to work with the coolest people.” she whines, glaring at Harry.

 

“Thanks, it’s nice to meet you.” Louis says, shaking her hand before turning to Harry’s mother. “Louis Tomlinson.” he greets, shaking her hand in turn. 

 

“I’m Harry’s mother, you can call me Anne, love.” She smiles sweetly at him and he can see the resemblance between her and Harry in the way they’re eyes seem to light up. 

 

“Nice to meet you, your son is such a pleasure to work with-” Louis says, causing Gemma to snort.

 

“Don’t try and be polite, you can say he’s annoying.” she interrupts, Harry starting to protest.

 

“No, really. He’s very sweet.” Louis assures, smiling at Harry.

 

Harry throws an arm over Louis and gives a pointed look to his sister. “Awww thanks, Lou. At least you like me even if my own flesh and blood doesn’t.” 

 

“You know I love you baby bro, I’m just kidding.” Gemma says , punching his arm affectionately. 

 

Louis gets a wave of homesickness watching Harry interact with his family, even though he’s FaceTimed his family three times already, he misses them like crazy, and to watch Harry goof around with his sister and mum, makes him miss them ten times more. 

 

He feels someone nudging his arm and he looks to see Harry frowning confusedly at him. 

 

“You okay?” Harry mouths. 

 

Louis smiles and nods back reassuringly, but when Harry doesn’t move his arm from around Louis’ shoulders, suddenly the homesickness becomes a lot easier to deal with.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

After the first show, Louis and Harry just click into place. They’re strangely comfortable for the amount of time they’ve known each other and are practically attached at the hip. They joke around the entire time before Harry’s second show the next day, their social media interaction is excessive, to say the least, and Harry’s fans are loving it. 

 

Because many of them know Louis or have at least heard of him, they seem to be obsessed with their friendship; Louis’ comments are full of questions about Harry, he’s gained thousands of followers and subscribers overnight, and people have started tweeting Harry about Louis, many of his fans have even started shipping them (not that they mind). 

 

The second show goes even better than the first, and they have two days off before Harry’s next concert in Brisbane. They load up onto the buses after the show, Harry falls asleep as soon as he gets into bed, and by the time he wakes up they’re in an entirely different city. This part of touring has always been the most disorienting, going to sleep in one place and waking up in another. It’s kind of scary, to be honest. 

 

Harry has the day off, so after checking into his hotel room (he much prefers to stay in hotels when touring, if only for the miniature toiletries), he decides to call up Louis to see if he wants to get lunch. 

 

They make plans to meet at a small café by Harry’s hotel, in the hopes of trying to avoid being mobbed. So, after spending way too long on his appearance, Harry (and his bodyguard) are waiting in the very back corner of the café (his bodyguard sitting two tables away, trying to be inconspicuous). The waitress has clearly recognized him and keeps whispering to her co-workers, but none of the other customers seem to have noticed his presence, which he’s very thankful for. 

 

Harry’s inspecting the menu when he hears the bell at the door jingle. He looks up and his breath catches. Louis is standing there, looking breathtakingly gorgeous. His hair is in a perfect ruffled fringe, accompanied with a red beanie and a pair of aviators. He’s wearing light jean shorts and a loose white tank top that shows off his tattooed arms, and he couldn’t look more beautiful if he tried. 

 

Harry is brought out of his trance when Louis looks over at him and shoots him a beaming smile, taking off his sunglasses and hooking them on the front of his shirt before walking over.

 

“‘Sup popstar?” Louis asks, sitting down at the seat across from Harry.

 

“Don’t call me that.” Harry whines, trying to glare at Louis, but unable to hold back his smile.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot we’ve been over this. I should be honored to be in your presence, as you are a ‘musical prodigy.’ I can’t believe someone as amazing as you would ever want to be in my company; I’m only a lowly makeup artist, here to make you look beautiful.” Louis says, rolling his eyes. 

 

“I thought I was already naturally beautiful.” Harry pouts, mock-hurt. 

 

“Of course you are, love, I’m just enhancing your already gorgeous features.” Louis assures, reaching out to lightly brush Harry’s cheek. And of course, as soon as Louis’ fingertips make contact with Harry’s skin, Harry lets out an unconscious tiny sigh and leans into the contact. They both freeze, Harry realizing what he’s done and Louis seeming to be going through the same understanding, and for a moment, they lock eyes, both of them unsure what to do, before Louis awkwardly drops his hand and Harry diverts his eyes anywhere but Louis’ face. 

 

Luckily, just at that moment, the waitress decides to come back over, holding a tray with two glasses of water and trying not to stare at Harry.

 

“Hi, what can I get you both today?” she asks, her voice slightly high-pitched and shaky, as she nervously makes eye-contact with Harry, smiling flirtatiously. She looks to be around 19 or 20 and is fairly pretty, with long dark hair pulled back in a neat bun and hazel eyes, complete with bright red lipstick and neatly done winged eyeliner. Harry would be much more interested in her if he didn’t have a literal angel sitting directly across from him. 

 

“Um, I’ll take a blueberry scone.” Harry says, smiling at her which causes her to blush and adjust her skirt. “Lou?” 

 

Louis glances quickly at the menu before looking back up at the waitress (who is still staring at Harry), “I’ll have the same, thanks.” There’s an edge to his voice, but she doesn’t seem to notice, and as she walks away she sends one last glance over her shoulder at Harry.

 

“She seems pretty into you.” Louis comments, an indescribable tone to his words, his expression neutral. 

 

Harry blushes, uncertain how to respond. “I mean, I guess so.” he mumbles.

 

“Do you think she’s pretty?” Louis prods, still not meeting Harry’s gaze.

 

“I mean, not as pretty as you.” Harry says cautiously. When Louis looks back up at him, his smile practically glowing, Harry’s confirmed that that was the right thing to say.

 

“Well of course, who could be as pretty as me?” Louis jokes, pretending to flip his hair, the mood instantly light again. “I’m the most attractive person you’ll ever meet.”

 

“Sure you are.” Harry says, smiling fondly. 

 

“It’s true; just because I don’t have your flowing Rapunzel locks or silly dimples, doesn’t mean I’m not just as beautiful. And besides, let me remind you that I am in charge of how hot you look onstage, so I wouldn’t get me angry.” Louis threatens (or at least he tries, it mainly comes off as adorable).  

 

“Well, I’m also the person who got you that job, so watch it.” Harry says offhandedly, but for some reason, it makes Louis start choking on his sip of water. 

 

“W-what?” Louis manages to splutter out. “That was you?”

 

“What was me?” Harry asks, completely and utterly confused. 

 

“It was you who picked me for the job?” Louis manages to get out, recovering. 

 

“You didn’t know that? Yeah, one of my fans tweeted to me about you and I watched a couple of videos and liked you. I thought Maria told you.” Harry says, completely shocked. 

 

“No, she didn’t!” Harry makes a mental note to bring that up with Maria later but doesn’t say anything. 

 

“That’s weird, but yeah, I chose you.” 

 

“Wow. I don’t know what to say, I’m so flattered.” Louis says, completely blown away. 

 

Harry reaches over the table and pokes Louis nose, making him jump the tiniest bit. “I mean, how could I resist? With your excessive cursing and amazing good looks, I think you could make anyone you want fall head over heels for you.”

 

At his words, Louis knocks one of his knees with Harry’s and sends him a smirk and a quick wink. “Oh, well I guess we’ll have to see about that.” 

 

And with that Harry knows. He is 110% definitely fucked. And it's all Louis’ fault. 

 

**

 

The next three concerts are amazing, each one getting better than the previous one , and as the shows go on, Harry slowly gains confidence, his pre-show freakouts becoming less and less intense (though he has Louis to credit for that). And over the week Louis and Harry grow even closer, as they spend as much time as possible together, and after being seen out together five times over seven days, fans (and tabloids) are going wild. 

 

They have a special sort of relationship; Louis teases Harry about the tiny stupid things he does, but as soon as someone else says something that’s the tiniest bit mean Louis is the first to stand up for Harry. And even though Harry tries his hardest to be cool around Louis, 90% of the time he fails and just ends up looking like a complete idiot. They joke around, play pranks on the crew and the band, spend hours watching shit reality TV shows and when they’re not together, they’re texting. 

 

Louis also has picked up a habit of braiding Harry’s hair when he’s nervous, it started out as a way to calm Harry down but it started to be second nature for him to do it. 

 

It’s about thirty minutes before Harry’s second show in Melbourne and Harry is having an internal freakout. It’s not bad but being able to hear the crowd screaming always gets to him. He’s currently texting Niall and hanging out with some of the crew, trying to get himself under control. 

 

Niall and Harry are texting about whether or not Niall should confront his asshole neighbor who keeps leaving his trash everywhere when suddenly someone throws themselves onto Harry’s lap. Harry doesn’t react, as this has become commonplace to him (what can he say, Louis is very cuddly).

 

“Hazzaaa” Louis whines, poking Harry’s cheek impishly.

 

“What do you need now?” Harry asks, glancing away from his phone to the boy in his lap who is now glaring up at him.

 

“Entertain me.” Louis demands, giving off an air of a spoiled toddler.

 

Harry rolls his eyes and tries to pretend this isn’t as adorable as it should be. “Can’t you find something to do?” 

 

Louis pouts, full on pouts, bottom lip out and eyebrows furrowed. “But I want to be with you. Everyone else is boring.”

 

“I’m busy, Lou. You’ll just have to deal.” Louis seems to accept that and stays quiet for about two minutes, playing with the hem of Harry’s shirt before speaking up again.

 

“Haaarry.” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Can I braid your hair?” 

 

“Fine.” Harry says, pretending as if it’s a chore for him. If he’s being honest he likes it much more than he’d ever admit.

 

Harry awkwardly gets off the couch he was sitting on and settles on the floor between Louis' legs, opening up his phone again to respond to Niall.

 

The spend the next ten minutes like that, Harry texting Niall while Louis puts his hair into two French braids, reading over his shoulder and occasionally commenting on the conversation.

 

It’s nice and Harry actually forgets about the concert until Maria comes in and breaks the peace, ordering everyone to go get ready.

 

Louis’ finished with Harry’s hair and has switched to gently massaging Harry’s shoulders, rubbing out all of the tension built up from stress and a bad sleep schedule, so when Maria comes in Harry’s basically in a trance, feeling more at peace than he’s felt for a long time. 

 

“Come on Harry, let’s go!” she yells, causing him to groan in annoyance. 

 

“Do I have to?” he asks, getting up and stretching.

 

“Yes, you’ve got songs to sing and fans to satisfy.” Louis says clapping his hands before standing up as well and poking Harry’s back to get him to move.

 

They walk together to the side of the stage, Harry’s breath getting quicker and quicker the closer he gets to the stage but it’s not nearly as bad as it used too. That could be that he’s getting used to it or it could be Louis’ hand resting lightly on his waist but it doesn’t matter as long as there’s an improvement, right? When the intro video starts playing Harry instantly tenses again, but Louis walks up behind him and hugs him from behind, resting his forehead on Harry’s back. 

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll be perfect as always.”

 

Harry swivels around, to hug Louis properly and for a minute they stay there. Harry closes his eyes, trying to block out the nerves and focus on the warmth that seems to radiate out of the smaller boy. When he finally pulls away he presses a quick kiss to Louis’ cheek and flies away, sending one last cheeky wink over his shoulder to Louis as the crowd erupts into screams. 

 

**

 

Because their friendship blossomed so quickly and so intensely, many of Harry’s fans are starting to think that there’s more to it than just a friendship. And they aren’t entirely wrong. Harry is definitely attracted to Louis, there’s no doubt about that, and there’s an overwhelming amount of sexual tension between them. But, they seem to have a mutual border, neither one of them wanting to cross the line and ruin their friendship. 

 

The thing that really makes his fans start looking into their relationship happens before his sixth concert in Adelaide. Gemma has come out to visit a friend and to see his show, so Harry had gotten up early to pick her up from the airport, which means that now he’s completely and utterly exhausted. Sound check is horrible.By the time it’s the meet and greet, Harry has a piercing headache and just wants to curl up in his own bed and sleep for 12 hours straight. When he gets to the room he finds Louis is already there, sitting on the floor in a corner on his laptop, completely ignoring everyone until Harry comes over and sits down next to him. 

 

“Hello.” Harry says, nudging Louis with his shoulder.

 

The other boy looks up and maybe it's just Harry’s imagination but his whole face seems to light up. “Hi! Do you need me to move? You’re having the meet and greet here, right?” Louis asks, starting to get up.

 

“No no you can stay. I’ve also got like twenty more minutes before it starts.” Harry lightly pulls Louis back down. 

 

“Okay, I’ve got to edit my video so don’t mind me being antisocial.” Louis says before putting his headphones back on and opening up his laptop. Because of the way they’re sitting Harry’s right side is flush against Louis’ left and for some reason it seems like every point of him that’s touching Louis is on fire, so as an attempt at a distraction Harry takes out his phone and replies to a few fans about his concert that night. They sit in peace, one of them occasionally shifting a tiny bit or showing the other something interesting but mainly they just mutually relax, the mood pleasant and comfortable. 

 

Harry’s in the middle of scrolling through his feed when he hears a soft snore coming from beside him. Slowly, he looks over to see Louis who has drifted to sleep, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging slightly open. 

 

Harry’s transfixed by the sight. Louis who is usually so vibrant and alive looks soft, seeming to be much younger than he is and almost boyish. And when Louis’ head drops onto Harry’s shoulder Harry freezes, not wanting to move and break the moment. 

In his sleep Louis mutters something indistinguishable before burrowing his head further into Harry’s neck, each tiny exhale tickling his jaw.

 

It’s a magical moment, warmth from the smaller boy’s body seeping into Harry’s and covering him almost in a golden glow. Harry slowly reaches a hand up and lightly brushes Louis’ fringe out of his face, letting his hand trail down his jaw, fingertips just ghosting over the smooth skin. He hears a noise and looks up to see Gemma standing in front of them, holding her phone having clearly just take a photo. 

 

He raises an eyebrow, not wanting to speak and wake up the sleeping boy but all she does is smile and point to his phone. He quickly opens it up and checks Twitter to see that she’s posted a photo of the two of them, Louis fast asleep and Harry gazing down at him, his fingertips gently resting on Louis’ chin. It looks almost...intimate. A private moment that when taken out of context almost looks like something very different. And when he looks to see her caption he can’t help but blush.

 

I need someone to look at me like @Harry_Styles looks at @Louis_Tomlinson 

 

When Harry tries to glare at her she just laughs, knowing that he’s not actually mad (he also might have also saved the photo to his camera roll)

 

And when Louis finally wakes up and checks his phone to see the picture, all he does is chuckle and poke Harry’s cheek saying “Don’t worry, Hazza, I already knew you were in love with me,” before placing a cheeky kiss on Harry’s nose before flitting away giggling, leaving the curly haired boy frozen and blushing, and Gemma cracking up.

 

**

 

“So, Harry, when are you and Louis going to start dating?” Gemma asks abruptly, making Harry almost choke on a piece of broccoli. It’s the day after his concert and they decided to go out for dinner before she flies back the next day.

 

“What?” he manages to get out through his coughs. 

 

“Come on, it’s obviously going to happen, it’s just a matter of when.” She states matter of fact.

 

“It’s not like that, we’re not like that.” Harry says, sounding unconvincing even to himself. 

 

Gemma rolls her eyes but doesn’t protest. “And when’s Niall coming?”

 

“Soon. He’s flying out to Japan the same day as I am.” 

 

“He’s been telling me that you won’t stop talking about Louis.” Gemma continues, smirking.

 

“One, why are you talking about me to Niall? Two, I don’t text about Louis that much.” Harry insists, glaring at his sister.

 

“Sure.” Gemma replies sarcastically. They sit in comfortable silence for a little bit, the only sound the clinking of forks and the dull noise of conversations from the other tables. After they finish off their meals, they quickly pay and leave out the back where Harry’s car is waiting for them, Gemma smirking at him when she gets in and finds a jumper lying on the seat, one that definitely doesn’t belong to Harry and has a smudge of concealer on the cuff. 

 

**

 

The first time they get papped together is in Perth, the day before his last show of the Australian leg of the tour. They had gone out for dinner in a small restaurant (it isn’t a date, no matter what Gemma or Niall says), thinking that it might keep the paps away but halfway through dinner his PR manager called Harry and told him that they had called the paps, saying that being seen with Louis could get his name in the tabloids, some speculation out there. And of course, when they take a picture with one fan more and more start gathering out front with the paps. Great. 

 

“Do we have to go out through that mob?” Louis asks, when he sees the forming crowd. 

 

Harry nods his head grimly. “Well, you don’t, but I do. You can go out of the back, probably, but my management wants me to go takes some fan photos and get some publicity. It’s stupid but part of my job, I guess.” Technically, they want Louis in the photos as well but if Louis doesn’t want to, Harry definitely won’t make him.

 

“No no, don’t worry, I’ll come with you. They’ve already seen me, so it’ll be weird if you leave alone.” Louis says brightly, but an undertone to his voice gives away his unease. 

 

Harry instantly feels horrible. He hates the paps, hates the flashing and the yelling and as much as he loves his fans but when there are too many of them it can get overwhelming. He knew he was going to have to deal with it when he chose this life so he tries not to complain; besides, it’s a small price to pay for all of the amazing things he gets to do. But the one thing he hates is when it affects his friends and family. He can deal with people yelling at him but as soon as someone dares to say anything to someone else, he won’t ignore it. 

 

“Really Lou, it’s totally fine.” Harry assures.

 

Louis shakes his head firmly. “I’m coming with you, and I’ll be fine, okay?” 

 

Harry rolls his eyes but still signals to his bodyguard that they’re ready to leave.  

 

They take a moment to collect themselves, adjusting here and there so that they look their best, as Harry’s bodyguard watches the door. When Harry looks over to Louis, he’s already looking back at him and smiles. “Come on, Hazza.” Louis says, wrapping his arm around Harry and lightly resting his hand on the dip of Harry’s waist, a gesture that had originally started just to guide the younger boy when they were out together but had turned into a habit. And yes, Harry’s aware that it’s not normal, and yes, he’s aware that many of the aspects of their relationship that are less than normal, but it’s easier to just ignore that, ignore all of the broken boundaries and carefully walked lines and just be happy with each other. 

 

With Louis’ hand steadying both Harry mentally and physically, Harry steps out of the restaurant, throwing one last smile at the hostess and everything explodes. Well, not literally, but suddenly everyone wants his attention, fans trying to say ‘hi’ and paps trying to see who exactly has their arm so possessively around Harry. 

 

Luckily it isn’t that bad, there are maybe six or seven paps and twenty fans at the most; Harry, he’s had it much worse. There are more fans than average for a chance meeting, as he is playing a concert there the next day, so a lot of fans were on the lookout, but it’s not horrible. 

 

He can feel Louis stiffen as soon as the cameras start flashing though and his heart sinks. He wishes that they could just walk by and leave but he has special instructions to have as much fan interaction as possible, so he’s got to take photos with them all, which can take some time. 

 

His bodyguard knows this, so tells the fans to form a line to get a photo with Harry, which they do semi-successfully (it’s at least less of a mob) but the paps keep shooting, trying to get the perfect angle, not caring so much about Louis, but the fact that he’s got his hand on Harry’s waist and that the perfect photo of the pair could spike as many rumours as they want. Harry turns his head and whispers to Louis, explaining that he has to take photos and that it’s okay if Louis wants to go ahead to the car, but Louis shakes his head and tightens his grip on Harry. 

 

As the fans come up to Harry, Louis stays silent, only speaking up when a fan of his comes up and asks for a photo with both of them. He also doesn’t move from Harry’s side; he has to remove his arm because it makes taking photos awkward, but Louis refuses to leave, which Harry greatly appreciates. It’s all going fine until the very last fan. 

 

She’s maybe Harry’s age, with dyed pale rose colored hair pulled up into a messy bun, tiny white jeans shorts, and a black lacey bralette, her lips painted a dusky orange. Objectively, Harry can admit that she’s gorgeous. But there’s something… off about her. And maybe Louis can sense it too because Harry can feel the shorter boy tense beside him and suddenly there’s a small hand back of his waist and he’s pulled gently against Louis (not that Harry minds). 

 

She smiles brightly at Harry, completely ignoring Louis and adjusts her top. “Hi Harry,” she greets, her voice low and syrupy. He awkwardly smiles back clearly getting her vibe.

 

“Hello love, would you like a picture?” Harry asks, shifting uncomfortably as she eyes him up and down, flirtatiously biting her lip.

 

“That would be great, could I also get a hug?” she asks, purposefully looking up at him through her thick lashes. Louis’ fingers suddenly dig into Harry’s hipbone reminding Harry that he’s there. 

 

“Yeah, of course.” Harry says, lighting tapping Louis’ hand to signal for him to let go. After a quick squeeze, Louis complies, stepping back and Harry opens his arms for a hug. When she hugs him, it isn’t like most fan hugs where they bury themselves in him and hold on tight, she goes up on her toes, delicately wraps her arms around him and gives him a soft squeeze making sure that their bodies fit together a little too close for comfort. 

 

It’s all very purposeful. When they take the photo, she asks him if she can kiss his cheek and of course, he says yes, so when she presses her soft lips gently against his cheek for a little too long, he thinks nothing of it. And when she gives him one last hug thanking him and tells him that she can’t wait for his concert, he just smiles and nods, even when she lightly trails her fingers down his arm. He’s used to fans being flirty, a lot of them get it in their heads that they’re his “soulmate” or something, but it doesn’t bother him as long as they’re respectful. 

 

It’s not until he’s finally back in the car with Louis does Harry notice something is wrong. Well, at least something with Louis is wrong. He’s quiet, very quiet, and when Harry nudges him he just moves over without saying anything. 

 

“Lou, what’s wrong?” Harry asks, gently leaning into Louis’ side. 

 

“ ‘m fine.” Louis grumbles. He’s definitely not fine. So, Harry takes it upon himself to cheer him up. 

 

As gracefully as he can (which to be honest isn’t very graceful but who can blame him), Harry gets up and flops down on Louis’ lap. Looking up at Louis, who is currently a little shocked from having a 5’11” human being suddenly sit on him, he gives his most petulant look. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.” 

 

Louis can’t help but smile at the sight of the child-like expression on Harry’s face but doesn’t answer. 

 

“You’re being annoying.” Harry continues, grumpily. “Is it something I did?” he continues, more cautiously. 

 

Louis shakes his head, quick to deny that. “Of course not. It’s just that, well, I don’t like how random strangers get to be all over you. Like, I get that they’re your fans and all, but it still feels weird to me.” Finally breaking, Louis’ words leaving Harry in shock for a second.

 

“Oh, Lou. It’s fine. I don’t mind it at all.” Harry replies, though for some reason, it doesn’t seem to comfort the other boy, instead Louis’ eyes darken. 

 

“I never said it bothered you.” Louis pushes Harry off his lap, scooching over and throwing one last look over his shoulder at the bewildered boy. “You’ve got some lipstick on your cheek.” he growls before finally turning away, leaving Harry in a confused  shock .

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

5.

Louis’ definitely mad at Harry. After what was possibly the most awkward car ride ever, Louis had gotten out on the bus where he was staying, thanking Harry’s driver but not even acknowledging Harry before leaving. 

 

When Harry texts Louis asking him what’s wrong, he gets no response, not even when he calls Louis six times in a row. It’s driving Harry crazy. 

 

The next morning when Harry wakes up, the first he does is check his social media, as expected, it’s blowing up with the pictures of him and Louis from last night, something that would have made him extremely happy before, yet now just makes him cringe. He doesn’t want to think about Louis having to see his mentions flooded with articles speculating and analyzing everything about their relationship, and with all of this, seeing Louis today is going to be incredibly awkward. 

 

He has a text from Niall asking about whether he and Louis were finally a thing or not, but Harry’s too tired to explain everything, so just answers with a simple ‘No’ and leaves it at that. 

 

Harry clicks one article titled, ‘Harry Styles’ New Beau?’ to see what people are saying about them. It’s pretty simple; the article just talks about how they were spotted out together, explains how Louis is a well-known YouTuber who is working as Harry’s makeup artist and puts a lot of focus on how close they were when they walked out. 

 

The article also mentions their “flirtatious” twitter interactions as well as talking about how many of Harry’s fans have begun to 'ship' them. After looking through a couple more articles Harry gets a sense of the general view the media has. It’s not bad, mainly speculation and breakdowns of their previous interactions and some are saying that they “think it’s just another one of Harry’s brief flings” which makes his stomach churn. 

 

Unlike a lot of the public thinks, Harry isn’t actually some sort of serial dater. He gets thrown together with anyone he talks to and any time he as much looks at a girl, headlines are created about their ‘passionate and secreted romance.’ It’s maddening.

 

When his phone dings, Harry basically throws his laptop off his lap in an attempt to see who it is (not that he’s waiting for a certain boy to text him) but is disappointed when it's just a text from Maria, a pointless reminder about the show. Oh yeah, the show where he’s going to be alone with Louis for like, half an hour getting his makeup done. Great. Hopefully, Louis will be over it by then, because, if he’s not, it’s going to be horrible for both of them.

 

**

 

Louis is definitely not over it. When Harry gets to the venue, the first thing he does is search out Louis, who he finds sitting with some of the crew and deeply concentrated on something on his phone. When Harry starts to approach him, Louis casually glances up, but once seeing who it is, he freezes, eyes widening and his face paling. Harry cautiously gives Louis a tiny half wave, the movement seems to break the moment and Louis forcibly looks away, directing his attention back to his phone. 

 

Harry slowly sits down next to Louis, leaving a good foot and a half between them, and greets the crew. When he tentatively turns to Louis, he’s met with a blazing blue gaze, Louis having already been staring at him. Their eyes catch, holding for a moment before Louis drops his glare and stands up. 

 

“Well I’m off to the loo, I’ll see you later lads!” Louis’ voice is falsely bright, but no one besides Harry seems to pick up on it. 

 

As soon as Louis starts to leave, Harry jolts up as well. “I think I’ll go find Maria, actually, I need to talk to her about something.” he says, before rushing in order to catch up with Louis in the hallway. 

 

When Louis hears Harry coming, he starts to walk quicker, not even turning around to look at him.

 

“Wait!” Harry calls out, jogging up and grabbing Louis’ arm, the smaller boy freezing at the contact. 

 

Louis slowly turns around, his expression guarded and his shoulders tight. 

 

“What do you want?” Harry winces at the chill in Louis’ voice, not used to having it be directed at him. 

 

“Are you mad at me?” 

 

Louis’ face is unreadable, as he carefully pulls his wrist out of Harry’s grasp. 

 

“No.”

 

“Then why are you being like this?” Harry asks, confused. 

 

“Listen, I don’t want to deal with this right now okay? Tell me when you need me.” Louis’ voice finally breaks the tiniest bit, exasperation and a hint of something else just audible. 

 

“Lou-” Harry starts, but Louis just shakes his head and walks off, shoulders slumped and head hung. 

 

It shouldn’t hurt Harry this much, but for some reason, his chest is aching. And that’s when he realizes that what he thought was just a simple crush has turned into something much more.

 

Harry’s been ignoring all of the signals; the fact that they’ll share a chair even when there are two available, how when Louis jokingly flirts with other people it bothers Harry to an extreme, how he can’t stay calm before shows unless Louis’ with him... it should have been obvious. 

 

Harry has always known that they weren’t normal, hell, everyone knew they weren’t normal, but he’d always just pushed it to the back of his mind. Why ruin something by overthinking it? But now it's obvious. 

 

Harry is in love with Louis Tomlinson. 

 

There, he said it. And it's too early for this, and there’s no way of anything ever working out but it can’t be denied anymore. Harry’s in love with Louis and there’s nothing he can do about it. Even though Louis will probably never feel the same, there’s a tiny hint of hope, reflected in every time Harry’s looked to see Louis staring at him; when it's 3am and they’re still up together watching crap TV and getting drunk, when Harry gets homesick so Louis climbs into Harry’s bed and holds him until the tears are replaced with slow steady breaths. 

 

It’s from the way that Louis doesn’t hesitate in claiming Harry as his. 

 

And Harry knows it, he is Louis’, he’s been Louis’ ever since the beautiful boy opened the door on their very first meeting, and he’ll probably be Louis’ forever. Even if Louis may never be Harry’s, a little part of Harry will always belong to the golden, blue-eyed boy.

 

And shit, Harry’s gone and fucked up everything, and he doesn’t even know how but it doesn’t matter, Harry has to get Louis back. 

 

**

 

A few hours later, Harry feels like shit; he was distracted all through the soundcheck and the meet and greet, something his fans definitely picked up on. But it’s kind of hard to focus when you’ve just had a revelation that you’re in love with your best friend. And what doesn’t make him feel better is the fact that now it’s time for Harry to get his makeup done, and he has no idea how he’s going to face Louis.

 

Louis hadn’t been at the soundcheck. Usually, he would be right out in the front, watching and joking with Harry, but today, he had been missing, something that even Maria had noticed, asking Harry where his ‘little friend’ was. Harry had tried not to let it get to him, but he couldn’t help but keep checking to see if Louis just was late. When the soundcheck passed without at least a sighting of Louis, Harry tried to convince himself that Louis might have just been busy. 

 

But when Harry gets to the styling room and Louis still isn’t there, his heart sinks. For a moment, he gets a flash of fear that Louis might be ditching the tour completely, but when the door opens, he’s relieved (and surprised) to see Louis walking in, his arms crossed and mouth set.

 

And even though Louis’ expression is cold, stormy and there’s not even a hint of light in his eyes, he’s still so beautiful and Harry is so in love it hurts. When Harry realizes he’s been staring, he awkwardly clears his throat and runs his hand through his hair. “Hey, Lou.” 

 

“Hi.” Louis mutters, brushing past Harry to get to his supplies which are laid out and organized neatly. 

 

“Are you upset with me?” Harry asks for the second time that day, partially not wanting to ruin everything, but his curiosity getting the best of him. 

 

This time Louis’ answer seems much more honest, and Harry can hear the walls breaking down in his voice. “No.”

 

“Were you earlier?” 

 

Louis’ shoulder sag, his hands slowly lower from where they were starting to prepare his products and he turns around to face Harry. His normally bright blue eyes are a foggy navy-grey and all the tension that he had walked in with has faded away. 

 

“Harry, I wasn’t mad at you, I could never be mad at you. I was upset about something that has nothing to do with you, okay? Don’t worry about it.” 

 

Harry can’t help but smile and walks over to Louis, before enveloping him in a tight hug. Louis hugs him back just as tightly, nails lightly pressing into Harry’s back and his nose buried into Harry’s neck. It hurts to know that Louis will never see their interactions as more than platonic, but if they’ll never be more than friends, Harry can live with that, as long as he can be around Louis. 

 

“I’m glad you’re not angry at me.” Harry says quietly, feeling the smaller boy shiver at the brush of Harry’s lips against his ear, something that shouldn’t affect Harry as much as it does 

 

They stay like that for a moment, trying to apologize with tiny touches instead of words, until Harry pulls away, letting his hand drift to Louis’ waist. 

 

“We should probably get my makeup done.” 

 

“Yeah, probably.” Louis starts his usual routine, letting Harry close his eyes and relax for a little bit, the feeling of the soft brushes and sponges soothing on his skin, and Louis’ little hums and mutters as he works, almost like a lullaby. It’s the little things like this that make Harry see how much he loves Louis; how Louis curses loudly when he drops a bronzer, how he sings little snippets of Harry’s songs with not-so-appropriate lyric changes, they ways in which he tells stories about his little sisters, his voice getting all soft and fond while he thinks about them, he’s just incredibly endearing in everything he does.

  
  


“‘Kay, pop star, I’m all done.” Louis’ words bring Harry back to the present and he sits up and stretches, his back cracking loudly.

  
  


“Thanks, Lou.” Harry stands up and presses a quick kiss to Louis’ cheek. “Want to go get a cuppa?” 

 

“Sure, just let me clean up and then we can go.” Louis says, starting to put seemingly random bottles and boxes away, many of which Harry has no idea what they’re used for. Harry stays seated and watches Louis clean up; he would offer to help, but knowing him, he’d probably drop something expensive and put everything in the wrong place. 

 

There’s something about the way Louis moves which is just captivating. Each move is so deliberate and careful, from each delicate finger to the way he brushes his fringe out of his eyes. He’s so beautiful in every possible way. When Louis glances over his shoulder to see Harry staring at him, Louis flashes Harry a smile that sends sparks up Harry’s spine and tightens his chest. 

 

When Louis is finished cleaning up they head out, walking close enough for Harry’s fingertips to lightly brush Louis’ with every step, each touch feeling like a shock. They keep up a light banter all the way to the cafeteria, it’s natural, the words just flow and they just work. 

 

After they each get their tea they settle down on one of the worn out couches in the corner, and Louis plants his head in Harry’s lap, setting his tea down carefully on the coffee table, shifting around until comfortable. 

 

“I can’t believe this leg is almost over, the first show feels like yesterday.” Louis reminisces, as Harry unconsciously runs his hands through Louis’ feather soft hair, lightly running his nails over Louis’ scalp and twirling strands of hair around his fingers in a therapeutic pattern.

 

“I know, I still can’t believe that I’m actually on a world tour, like, this is something that’s happening to me.” Harry says in wonder.

 

“You deserve it.” The three words seem to warm Harry from the inside out.

 

“Thanks, Louis.” Harry replies, smiling.

 

They sit there quietly, Harry playing with Louis’ hair while Louis drifts in and out of sleep; the room filled with a comfortable quiet. That is until suddenly the door is thrown open and someone is shouting Harry’s name.

 

“Harry!” A familiar Irish accent is filling the room and Louis jerks awake in shock. Niall, in all his glory, is standing in the doorway, looking like an overexcited puppy.

 

Harry lightly pushes Louis off his lap and races over to Niall, pulling him into a bear hug.

 

“Why’re you here? I thought you weren’t coming out until the next show!” Harry asks as the blond boy twirls him around. 

 

“Got off work early and thought I’d come to surprise you!” Niall sets him down and ruffles Harry’s hair roughly. “Now where’s that boy of yours?”

 

“Louis?” 

 

“Who else? I mean, is there anyone else on this earth that you talk about 24/7?” Niall yells, practically shouting with excitement, causing Harry to blush furiously, turning to see Louis smirking at him. Niall now just seeing Louis runs over to him and tackles him into a hug much like the one Harry received moments earlier. 

 

“Hello!” Louis says, surprised by the sudden act. Niall pulls away and gives Louis an up and down before turning back to Harry. 

 

“I can see why you’re so obsessed, you’ve got yourself a nice one here.” Niall’s comment makes both of the other boys flush as they lock eyes.

 

“Stop it, Niall.” Harry scolds, walking over to where the other two boys are standing.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Now Louis, here’s the thing, mate, my Harry here is very… fragile, so, if you mess with him, I’m going to get you, okay?” Niall’s voice is suddenly uncharacteristically threatening and his eyes darken as he glares down Louis, who just nods in response, looking extremely intimidated. “Good. Now that that’s over, we can just move on to the part where we share embarrassing stories about Harry!” Niall’s tone literally changes into sunshine and rainbows and all traces of his previous seriousness is gone. 

 

Louis seems only slightly shaken from the rapid changes of atmosphere and smiles brightly back at Niall. “You’re going to have to tell me everything. Spill all of Harry’s dirty secrets.” 

 

“Hey, hey! Are both of you turning your backs on me? You guys have just met and you’re already going off to trash me!” Harry interjects, pouting as the two other boys laugh at his objection.

 

For the next hour and a half before the show, Niall and Louis keep up a constant back and forth, first bonding over a shared love of football, then music, and even though Harry doesn’t speak much he’s incredibly happy. He hadn’t been worried, per say, but it’s a nice feeling to see that Niall gets on with Louis, he’d been worried that they wouldn’t. Niall is in the middle of telling Louis about the time Harry tried to sneak out of his house but accidentally walked into a door and broke his nose when Maria alerts Harry it’s time for his show. 

 

The three of them head over to the wings; Niall and Louis still keeping up the chatter, only stopping when they get there and can hear the deafening roar of the crowd. 

 

“Damn, that’s a lot of people.” Niall remarks.

 

Louis snorts at his comment. “Yeah, no shit.”  

 

And with that, the banter is picked back up again, simple friendly sparring with no actual mean intentions. To Harry, it’s wonderful, to see that his best mate and the boy he’s hopelessly in love with like each other is relieving, he’s not sure what he would’ve done if they had turned out to hate each other for some reason. Their playful jabs at each other help keep Harry’s mind off of the nerves, something he greatly appreciates. 

 

They both see him off and the show goes perfectly. Harry plays up everything, slightly sentimental as it’s the last show in Australia, and the crowd reflects his energy being one of the loudest and most responsive he's played for. Everything goes wonderfully, and when Harry comes running off stage he’s in some sort of high, unable to stop smiling and feeling like he's on the top of the world. And maybe that’s why, when Louis comes running over to congratulate Harry, Harry can’t help it.

 

In the midst of it all, the celebration, hugs, the cheers, and everyone shouting his name, Harry turns around and kisses Louis. And that’s when it all goes to shit. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

6.

Louis is drunk, he should have stopped two drinks ago and he definitely shouldn’t be in the middle of another. But none of that matters. What does matter is the fact that there’s a girl dancing with Harry and he’s full on grinding on her, her head thrown back and his lips on her neck. And Louis can’t do anything about it. 

 

Even though he’s angry, Louis has to admit that Harry is beautiful; his hair ruffled and tossed about perfectly, eyes closed with his lashes dark and thick against his pale skin, changing colors from the club lights. He’s in a billowy, blue, slightly sheer shirt and sinfully tight black skinny jeans, contrasting with the bright silver of the girl’s dress. The damn girl who’s pressed up so tightly against Harry that Louis has to fight the urge to run over and pull them apart. When she tilts her head to meet her lips with Harry’s, Louis curses, slamming his drink down on the bar, ignoring how the clear alcohol splashes over onto his hand. He fucked everything up, didn’t he? 

 

When Harry kissed him after the last concert, he freaked out; Louis hadn’t been expecting it, so when Harry had turned around and pressed his lips enthusiastically against Louis’, Louis kissed back for two seconds before pulling away with a mumbled “We can’t.” He hadn’t realized what he had done until he saw Harry’s face crumble, then pull back together, building a wall up and leaving Louis on the outside. 

 

Harry refused to talk to him for the rest of the night and hadn’t even acknowledged his existence. They had had a short break between the legs of the tour, Louis had flown back home for three days where his family had been confused as to why he refused to talk about the boy he couldn’t stop gushing about previously. 

 

Louis hadn’t realized that he was into Harry as more than a friend until halfway through the Australian leg, but once he did it haunted him. It was incredibly weird to fancy someone that played on the radio and who was on posters in his sister’s room. And after going through multiple freakouts because he was falling for a fucking pop star, he had finally accepted it. When he revealed his big revelation to Lottie, she’d been completely unsurprised and just said: “I’m honestly shocked it took you this long to figure it out.” Louis had been planning a way to tell Harry, of course, this was before the whole mess started. 

 

Louis refused to talk about Harry for the first two days he was home but finally broke down and told Jay what he had done and explained the entire situation on the third day, starting with the moment when he first realized he was falling for Harry, to the fan who had shamelessly flirted with Harry until Louis couldn’t take it and finally the kiss, the kiss which had ruined everything. 

 

“Oh Boo, it’s not your fault.” she had said, stroking his hair sympathetically. “You need to go apologize to him, he must be hurt as you gave him so many mixed messages. Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.” 

 

Louis believed her, so when he flew out to Japan to kick off of the Asian leg of the tour he had a plan; apologize to Harry then ask him out. It seemed so simple until he realized that Harry wanted nothing to do with him. When Louis tried to talk to Harry, Harry would plain out ignore him, Niall sending Louis sympathetic smiles every time Harry pretended like Louis wasn’t there. When Louis had to do his makeup for the show, Harry pointedly put in his headphones and Louis had taken the hint and given up any attempts to make peace. It’d been like that for the past six shows, and it’s tearing Louis apart at the seams. 

 

And oh, how it stings. He misses Harry, to put it simply. He had grown accustomed to being all over the younger boy, and not being able to hug him or even just place his hand on Harry’s waist hurts like hell. Every time he looks over to see Harry laughing with Niall, it sends a stab of pain that he couldn’t be the cause of Harry’s beaming smile anymore. It’s the little things, like when Louis dropped his cup of tea all over the floor Harry wasn’t there to tease him about it, when he saw a tree that looked kind of like a banana from a certain angle he had gone as far to take and his phone and take a picture before realizing that he couldn’t send it to Harry. 

 

If Louis could go back in time and fix everything he would in a heartbeat, if he hadn’t been such an idiot he could be in the place of the girl, it would be him who Harry was holding so tight and his lips would be on Harry’s, not hers. 

 

“Mate, you’ve been staring daggers into Harry all night, go and get him.” Louis looks up to see Niall standing over him, eyes soft. Niall had been the one who had forced everyone to go out, saying they all need time to ‘unwind’ in his words, and Louis started to resent him for it. 

 

“I’m fine.” Louis mutters, clearly not fine.

 

Niall claps him on the shoulder sympathetically. “You’re really not, you know he’s still into you. Like all he does is mope around talking about how love is bullshit and how beautiful you are.”

 

Louis can’t help but feel slightly happier knowing that he hasn’t lost all hope of ever getting Harry back, but seeing Harry sloppily make out with some random girl isn’t exactly agreeing with Niall’s point. Niall seems to get Louis’ thoughts and looks over at the couple as well. 

 

“Ignore that, I promise you he’s just trying to get you jealous.” And if on cue, Harry removes his lips from hers and whispers something before taking her hand and goes towards the door. And this is not happening. Nope, Louis will not let Harry take some girl home while Louis mopes around getting drunk. Ignoring any sense of reason, Louis hops off the bar stool and starts walking quickly after the pair, ignoring Niall’s cheers behind them.

 

This is probably a terrible idea, and Louis’ fairly sure this will end horribly, but right now all he sees is green and the girl’s hand on Harry’s waist, a spot reserved for Louis and Louis only. He picks up a run, dodging dancing couples and not caring who he bumps into, ignoring everyone but Harry, who is in the middle of trying to put on his coat while not detaching himself from the girl who is currently giggling and running a finger over Harry’s stomach, trailing lower and lower making Louis growl unconsciously.

 

“Harry!” Harry jerks his head up at Louis’ yell and his eyes widen in shock. Louis reaches the two, panting and suddenly he realizes that he has absolutely no idea what he was planning to do.

 

Harry’s eyes are confused but his mouth is set and his posture defensive. “What do you want, Louis?” 

 

“I-I…” Louis stutters unable to get the words he so desperately needs to say out of his mouth.

 

“I’m kind of in the middle of something, if you haven’t noticed, and I’d appreciate if you’d let me go now.” Harry’s words feel like a knife in Louis’ chest, and suddenly Louis can’t help it anymore. 

 

“You should go.” Louis says pointedly, glaring at the girl who’s been turning confusedly back and forth between the two boys. She seems to get his idea and gives Harry a tiny peck on the cheek before flitting away, surprisingly not protesting. 

 

As soon as she’s gone Louis turns back to Harry, who looks like he wants to murder Louis. 

 

“What was that for? Who gave you the right to send her away?” Louis swallows, trying to hold back the sudden feel of tears welling up in his eyes.

 

“Harry-” he starts but is cut off.

 

“No, this isn’t okay! You can’t reject me like that but not let me move on, I don’t know what you want me to do but you have no right to ruin me like this!” Harry’s voice is raw with emotion and with every word Louis’ heart slowly breaks. People are starting to turn around so Louis grabs Harry’s wrist (ignoring his protests) and pulls him outside, not stopping until they reach the park that’s across the street, which is completely deserted, considering it’s 2am.

 

“What the fuck are you doing Louis!” Harry hisses, not wanting to alert anyone of their presence. 

 

Louis turns to face Harry and he can feel a tear start to spill over, hot and sticky against his skin. When  Louis speaks, his voice is broken and raw, each word an effort. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Like you said I had no right to send her away, you shouldn’t care what I think. I’m sorry.” His heart breaks with every word that leaves his mouth, a second tear running down his cheek, quickly followed by a third then a fourth, and then finally the dam breaks and Louis collapses, head buried in his knees, not wanting Harry to see him cry.

 

The night is completely silent, but for Louis’ soft sobs until Harry finally speaks up, almost too quiet to hear. “Stop.”

 

Louis looks up confused. “What do you mean?”

 

Harry’s not looking at Louis, but the ground next to him and his arms are wrapped defensively  around himself. He looks almost fragile and Louis can finally see just how young he is for once. 

 

Harry’s silhouette is outlined by the flickering glow from an old street light and his lips are almost unnaturally pink against his pale skin. He’s just so beautiful, Louis can’t help but to stare, battling the want to trace his finger over Harry’s perfect cupid’s bow, over the sharp line of his jaw, to place a thousand tiny kisses down Harry’s neck, to mark him up, kissing bruises all over his collarbones, making sure the world knows that Harry is spoken for.

 

But he can’t because Harry isn’t his because he ruined everything because he had the chance and he threw it away. And so now he’s left with a broken heart and a ruined friendship.

 

“Lou-” Harry starts but Louis cuts him off, the one word stinging.

“Don’t. Please just go, I’m sorry, find that girl, bring her home, fucking marry her, I don’t even care.” Louis stands up, wiping his eyes, avoiding Harry’s eyes, and trying not to show how much his words hurt to say.

 

“Louis, please!” Harry’s voice cracks on the second syllable of Louis’ name and Louis can’t help but shudder at the broken sound.

 

“I can’t. I’m sorry. You don’t need me around anymore, I have to go.” Louis starts walking, not looking back because if he does he won’t be able to leave. 

 

He hears the footsteps behind him but he doesn’t register what’s happening until he’s pushed up against a tree, the breath knocked out of him, Harry’s body pressing his back into the bark, arms on either side of Louis’ head, and fiery green eyes blazing into his. “No. You can’t do this! I don’t care that you don’t want to kiss me, you have every right not to. But you can’t reject me and then get all bloody possessive again! And now you’re leaving? Make up your goddamn mind Lou! I don’t know what you want!” Harry snarl slowly turns into a yell, his breath hot on Louis’ face and tears building up in his green eyes.

 

And that’s when it hits Louis. All Louis wants and needs in life is standing right in front of him and he just needs to take it.

 

“You. I want you, and I know that you probably hate me now but you should know that, and I’ll wait for forever and ever if you won’t take me back.” Saying it out loud seems to change everything and once the words leave Louis’ lips he feels...freed. 

 

Harry doesn’t do anything, doesn’t move, doesn’t speak, energy rushing between each other and the tension is high, the only sound is the soft honking of a car and the faint music coming from the club across the street. 

 

Louis stares straight into Harry’s eyes, trying to read Harry’s gaze. Slowly Louis reaches up, not wanting to ruin the moment and lets one finger brush over the ivory skin, Harry’s skin chilled from the night air. 

 

This time, when Harry speaks, something is different, his voice is soft, open, the wall he had built up has disappeared, and there’s a flicker of something indistinguishable in his tone. “Louis, I’ve always wanted you. Damn it, I’ll always want you and if you’ll take me I’ll gladly be yours.” 

 

Harry’s words are like a breath of fresh air, a weight lifted off of Louis’ chest, he flickers his eyes up to Harry’s and then down to his lips, before looking back up to see Harry doing the same. Heart-racing and breathless, Louis slowly rises up on his tip toes so that he’s almost equal to Harry, while a warm hand feathers down Louis back, finally coming to rest on the curve of Louis’ waist, while another comes up to cup Louis’ cheek, wiping away the tears that have stained Louis’ cheeks and have become chilled from the wind. 

 

Louis doesn’t break eye contact with Harry but slowly brings his hands up to tangle into Harry’s mussed curls and pull his head down so their lips aren’t touching, but Louis can feel each breath Harry takes, breathing each other’s air and neither one moving. 

 

When Harry whispers, his lips brush Louis’, sending a shiver down Louis’ spine.

 

“Can I kiss you?” 

 

Louis’ answer isn’t in words but in the way he pulls Harry’s head down just a little bit more and connects their lips, not for the first time but for the first real time. And this is what it’s supposed to feel like, everywhere they’re connected seems to be on fire and Louis breath is stolen out of his chest, replaced with Harry. Louis lets his eyes flutter close as their lips slot together, fitting perfectly. 

 

And oh. Harry’s lips are plush and soft against his, Louis is surrounded by Harry slightly sweet musky scent, and Harry’s hands seems to be everywhere but nowhere at the same time, Louis can’t breathe, and yet, he feels like he just took his very first breath.

 

Harry lets Louis explore his mouth with his tongue, as Louis wants to try and taste every inch of Harry. Harry, who tastes of beer, tears and unexpectedly, honey. Harry, who is being so, so gentle but at the same time kissing Louis with an insatiable fierce desire, tongue demanding, yet ever so soft, taking everything Louis gives him and devouring Louis bit by bit. 

 

Louis is melting, there’s no sign of what’s him and what’s Harry but it doesn’t matter because Louis just wants Harry closer. His back is digging into the rough bark but Harry’s hand is pressing their bodies together and Louis just wants to stay like this forever, hands in Harry’s hair and lips moving frantically together, trying to make up for lost time. 

 

He can hear voices of people walking by but he ignores them, focusing instead on how this might be the best feeling in the world, strong hands steadying him and warm lips devouring him. Harry pulls back to place a soft, chaste, closed mouthed kiss on Louis’ lips before leaning back in and lightly alternating between sucking and nibbling on Louis’ bottom lip. 

 

Louis can’t help but let out a strangled moan when Harry kisses down his jaw, stopping to suck a mark on the side of Louis’ neck, lightly biting the skin before licking over the sensitive spot to sooth it, and continuing until Louis is certain there’s going to be a huge mark the next day. Harry continues to kiss down Louis’ neck, leaving Louis a trembling mess. 

 

“Fuck, Harry.” Louis breathes, his voice shaky as he pulls Harry back for a deep, bruising kiss, teeth clashing in their sloppiness. The kiss is messy but hot, each trying to devour the other, Louis’ fingers digging into Harry’s scalp, pulling him closer and closer. Louis is almost light-headed, high from the feeling of Harry and the cool night air, frigid on his burning skin. 

 

Harry pulls back, panting slightly and fuck. He’s gorgeous. His hair is messed up from Louis’ hands, his lips slightly swollen and there’s a thin layer of sweat coating him, making him seem to shine under the faint light of the street lamp. 

 

He’s so fucking beautiful it hurts. Louis untangles one hand from Harry’s curls to cup Harry’s cheek, before leaning in to place a feathery kiss on Harry’s lips. 

 

“You’re so beautiful.” Louis whispers before pulling Harry back in, kissing him slow and deep, trying to show to him with each touch, each kiss, just how lovely Louis thinks Harry is. And that’s when the first flash goes off. 

 

As soon as the blinding light explodes, Harry yanks himself away from Louis, eyes bright and shocked. Then the shouts start.

 

“Harry, are you and Louis dating?” 

 

“Harry, look over here!”

 

“Is it true that you’re together?”

 

There are paps everywhere, shouting and cameras going off and Louis’ heart is racing as he turns to Harry who has moved forwards as if trying to block Louis from their view. But it’s too late, they’ve probably already got enough shots to prove everything they need. Enough shots for Louis to be confirmed to be with Harry. 

 

Harry starts to say something to the paps, probably trying to get them to leave but it doesn’t matter. Louis’ unable to do anything, just stand there frozen in shock, when Harry turns back to him, holding out his hand Louis takes it without thinking and mindlessly follows Harry through the crowd and to where Harry’s car is parked, letting himself be manhandled in by Harry’s driver.

 

There are still flashes going off and a crowd has grown, random intrigued people and fans, Harry lingers in front of the car for just a moment, talking to someone Louis doesn’t know before getting in himself, instantly sitting down next to Louis, looking worried.

 

“Louis, I’m so so sorry. I didn’t know that they knew where I was. Please-” 

 

Louis cuts Harry off, smiling gently. “Harry, I’m perfect. It was a little bit of a shock but it’s totally fine. If this is a part of you then I’ll get used to it, it might take a while but I told you, I want you and all of you so if that includes paparazzi and screaming fans then I’ll just accept it.”

 

“Are you sure? I’m really so sorry and you know that people are going to give you hate just for being with me and-” Louis presses a kiss to Harry’s lips, effectively shutting him up. 

 

“Harry, I’ve told you, I don’t care what anyone else thinks as long as you want me back.” 

 

Harry looks relieved and enthusiastically kisses Louis again, mumbling a quick “Of course I want you.” against Louis' lips. The kiss grows more heated, frantic and messy with whispered sighs and quiet moans as Harry presses Louis against the car seat, large hands running over Louis’ back, rucking up his shirt and letting Harry’s long fingers dig into Louis’ bare skin.

 

“Can we go back to your room?” Louis murmurs as Harry sucks another mark onto Louis’ neck, right below the first. 

 

Harry exhales, breath hot and wet against Louis’ skin. “Fuck, of course.” 

 

The drive is quick and they tumble out of the car, Harry’s driver smirking at the two as the pair trip over each other and into the elevator. 

 

As soon as they get in Harry pushes Louis against the wall growling in his ear. “You’re fucking gorgeous Louis, been wanting to get my hands on you ever since we met.” Louis lets out a soft whimper at Harry’s words. 

 

“Want-want you to touch me.”

 

“Where?” Harry asks, nipping Louis’ earlobe just enough to make Louis hiss. 

 

“Everywhere. I want you all over.” Louis’ voice is raspy, pulling Harry over for a needy kiss, teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance. The elevator dings and Harry pulls Louis out, not wanting to stop, only to get out his room key, quickly letting them in before pressing Louis up against the door, mouth hungry and demanding against Louis’.

 

“Get this off.” Harry mutters, pushing at the hem of Louis’ tank. Louis pulls it off quickly, not caring where it lands as he throws it away. Harry pulls back and looks Louis up and down, exhale loudly. 

 

“Fuck. You’re so gorgeous.” Harry breaths, running a hand down Louis' chest, before leaning down to suck a love bite on Louis’ collarbone. 

 

“You love to mark me up don’t you?” Louis asks, pressing his nails into Harry’s back, hard enough to leave lines. 

 

“Want everyone to know you’re mine.” Harry mumbles, his words making something in Louis’ stomach flutter. 

 

“Am I now?” 

 

Harry doesn’t answer but continues to mark up Louis’ collarbones, one hand traveling down to grip Louis’ ass, causing Louis to groan softly. 

 

“Bedroom, now.” Louis demands, letting out a soft gasp when Harry picks him up, Louis locking his legs around Harry for support. 

 

The stumble into the hotel’s large bedroom, and fall together onto the neatly made bed, lips interlocked in a heated kiss. Harry rolls his hips down and the friction on Louis’ growing erection is enough to make him bite back a moan and rock his hips back up to meet Harry’s. 

 

“Take your shirt off.” Louis watches as Harry quickly undoes his shirt, and sheds it, revealing his muscular chest, milky skin only marred by the harsh lines of tattoos. Harry leans back in for another kiss, his bare skin burning against Louis’. 

 

Harry doesn’t break the kiss as he reaches down between them and unbuttons Louis’ jeans, pulling down the zipper and Louis kicks them off, his cock hard and straining against his tight briefs. 

 

Harry moves down Louis’ body, leaving a trail of kisses and mouths over Louis’ clothed cock, gaining a raspy moan from Louis before pulling down Louis’ briefs, letting Louis’ erection spring free, red and leaking against his stomach and the cool air shocking. Louis watches as Harry lets out a shaky sigh looking down at Louis, spread out and covered in a light sheen of sweat. 

 

“Fuck, you’re so amazing.” Harry purrs, leaning down to kiss up Louis’ inner thigh, stopping to suck another mark into the sensitive skin. Louis squirms underneath Harry’s hot mouth, letting out soft mewls. 

 

Harry slowly licks Louis’ cock from base to tip, slowly and teasing causing Louis to curse softly. When Harry takes Louis into his mouth, Louis almost comes on the spot. Harry’s mouth is so hot and wet and fuck. Louis looks down to meet Harry’s eyes and the sight might be the most amazing thing he’s ever seen, Harry’s swollen lips and pupils blown so there’s only a tiny ring of green around the black. When Harry starts bobbing his head up and down, one hand twisting around the base Louis lets out a strangled groan, his hands going down to tangle in Harry’s hair. 

 

When he runs his fingernails over Harry’s scalp Harry lets out an appreciative murmur, so Louis continues to pull on Harry’s hair, something that Harry seems to be really enjoying from the noises he’s making. Louis tries to keep his hips still but can’t help but jerk them forwards slightly, the feeling of Harry’s mouth on him just too much. 

 

Harry pulls off only to husk “Want you to fuck my mouth.”

 

Louis complies instantly, letting his hips thrust forwards, the tip of his cock hitting the back of Harry’s throat and letting out a deep moan of Harry’s name. Harry just takes it all, his cheeks hollowed and his eyes never leaving Louis. It might be the most obscene thing he’s ever seen and Louis can feel the orgasm building in his stomach so he manages to stop his hips and lightly pull Harry off. 

 

“You need to stop before I come, want you to fuck me.” 

 

Harry nods panting and reaches over to his bedside table pulling out a small bottle of lube and a condom. 

 

“Why are you still wearing clothes” Louis pulls at Harry’s belt loop, annoyed at the layer of clothing separating them. Harry quickly peels off his jeans and briefs in one quick motion, revealing his already rock hard erection and strokes himself a couple of times, a sight that makes Louis shiver.

 

“Fuck, you’re huge.” Louis breathes, taking in Harry’s gorgeous body. 

 

“Let me open you up.” Harry drizzles a fair amount of lube onto his hand, warming it between his palms before moving Louis to lie on his back and lining up his middle finger with Louis’ hole, lightly tracing around the rim before slipping in. As soon as Harry pushes past the tight ring of muscle, Louis lets out a shaky whimper, overwhelmed by how amazing it feels. 

 

Having not had sex in what feels like forever, he’s extremely tight, and when Harry pushes in past his second knuckle, Louis pulls Harry down for a passionate kiss trying to steady himself. As soon as Louis gets used to it, Harry starts to move his finger, slowly at first but then speeding up, curling his finger to brush Louis prostate and causing Louis’ hips to buck. 

 

“Another.” Louis pleads, his voice cracking slightly. Harry quickly adds in a second finger, going faster and scissoring them open, brushing Louis’ prostate, again and again, causing Louis to beg for more. When Harry finally adds a third finger, Louis is breathless, Harry leaning over him mouth open and sweat dripping from his hair, it’s a beautiful sight. 

 

When the stretch is comfortable he manages to get out “I’m ready,” trying to keep his voice even. Harry’s cock is achingly hard from the lack of attention so Louis gives him a few strokes before rolling on the condom for him and coating it in lube. 

 

Harry carefully lines them up and slowly pushes in, both letting out deep moans at the same time at the contact. Harry pauses for a moment, before slowly pushing in a couple more inches. When he bottoms out he pauses and Louis takes the moment to breathe, clutching Harry’s muscular arms and his head thrown back in pleasure. He feels so full of Harry, so close to him and this, this it’s the best feeling in the world. He pulls Harry down for a kiss and Harry slowly starts to move his hips, first in a small circle before starting to pick up a pace, thrusting deep and steady into Louis.

 

When he thrusts directly against Louis’ prostate, Louis digs his fingers into Harry’s arm and lets out a choked cry. “Fuck, Harry right there.” Harry starts to move even quicker, hips snapping and finding a steady rhythm, hitting Louis’ prostate more often than not, leaving Louis in a dizzy overwhelming state of pleasure. 

 

Louis slowly comes undone, hands scrambling over Harry’s sweaty skin, trying to find an anchor, eventually settling gripping Harry’s back, nails raking down, leaving angry red lines that just seem to turn Harry on even more. His breaths are ragged as Harry fucks him, and he can feel his orgasm start to build with each thrust. 

 

When Harry leans down and kisses him deep and harsh, moaning Louis’ name into his mouth it send him over the edge, and with a shattering groan Louis spills all over his chest, the tightening of his muscles around Harry making Harry’s thrusts lose their rhythm, and Harry rides out his orgasm with a loud cry, before collapsing onto Louis' chest, panting.

 

For a moment they just lay there, neither moving until Harry slowly gets up, tying off the condom and throwing in the waste bin and returning to the bed and laying down next to Louis again.

 

“That was wonderful.” Louis murmurs, pulling Harry over for a kiss, this one slow and lazy, their movements languid and soft. 

 

“You were amazing.” Harry whispers back before sitting up. Louis watches as Harry grabs a towel from the nearby nightstand and comes back over, sitting down next to Louis and wiping his chest clean, before tossing the towel away and collapsing again, letting out a soft sigh. Louis scooches over and wraps his arm over Harry so that they’re spooning, placing tiny kisses on the back of Harry’s neck and playing with his hair, feeling Harry slowly relax in his arms.

 

“Promise you’ll be here when I wake up?” Harry’s question is almost too quiet to hear and his voice is small, unsure and nervous. 

 

Louis presses another kiss to the nape of Harry’s neck. “Of course.” 

 

And that’s how Louis falls asleep, with Harry in his arms and his lips on Harry’s neck.

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

7.

When Louis wakes up it takes a moment before he realizes why there’s a head full of hair in his face. The memories of the night before coming rushing back to him and he can’t help but smile and pull the sleeping boy slightly closer to him, pressing a soft kiss onto Harry’s slept-on curls and lets himself drift back asleep, Harry’s soft breaths and quiet snuffles a kind of lullaby. 

 

**

 

The second time Louis wakes up, Harry has turned around to face him and as soon as he opens his eyes they’re met with green ones. It’s the best sight to wake up to, Harry’s sleepy eyes and messed up hair sprawled on the pillow, the morning light shining through the window giving him a faux halo, and shimmering off the tiny blond highlights in his hair. It’s a sight Louis definitely wouldn’t mind waking up to every day.

 

“Hi.” Louis whispers, smiling as Harry blushes from being caught staring. “Been watching me sleep?”

 

“You’re cute when you sleep.” Harry mumbles, his blush intensifying. 

 

“Thanks, Edward Cullen.” Louis leans up and places a feather light kiss on the tip of Harry’s nose, before nuzzling back against Harry’s chest pressing another soft kiss right on Harry’s collarbone. 

 

“Heeey, I’m not yet on his level of creepy.” Harry drawls, running a hand through Louis’ hair and pressing his lips to the top of Louis’ head. “As much as I would like to stay here all day I’ve got a show and you’ve got a job to do.” 

 

Louis groans and tries to bury further into Harry’s chest, not wanting to get up but when Harry throws the covers off and rolls away Louis forces himself to open his eyes and sit up, stretching his back and yawning. He gets out of bed after Harry, his bum only the tiniest bit sore and after standing up collapses into Harry’s arms dramatically. 

 

“Come on, you need me to carry you everywhere princess?” Harry laughs, poking Louis in the side until he straightens up, scowling.

 

“Shut up.” Louis mumbles fondly, making his way to the bathroom. He takes a quick shower, brushes his teeth and makes them some tea while Harry is taking his turn. By the time Harry’s out of the shower Louis has gotten together two cups of tea and is singing very loudly along to the radio, not realizing that Harry had gotten out until two strong arms wrap around him and a sloppy kiss is pressed onto his cheek. 

 

“You’ve got a lovely voice.” Louis blushes at the compliment and turns around to give Harry a proper kiss on the lips, letting his hand linger on Harry’s cheek. Harry looks wonderful, hair wet and slicked back, eyes still slightly sleepy and cheeks flushed from his freshly washed face. 

 

“Not really, nothing compared to yours.” Louis mumbles sheepishly, pulling away to get their tea. 

 

“Not true, really you could be a professional.” Harry insists, taking the tea and settling down on the couch, patting the cushion beside him for Louis to sit.

 

Louis does and cuddles up next to Harry, wrapping an arm around Harry’s shoulder and pulling the other boy into him. “Whatever you say.” 

 

They spend the next ten minutes peacefully listening to the radio and drinking their tea (which is very good if Louis must say) before quickly getting dressed and styling their hair and heading out to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast. 

 

It’s only once they’ve ordered and sat down at the farthest back table when they remember about the pictures from the night before. After a quick scroll through his phone Louis realizes he’s got about twenty texts from different people about how he was caught making out with Harry Styles in a park at 2 AM, not exactly something that happens every day. When he asks Harry about what the media is saying he’s pleasantly surprised to find out that everyone is very accepting of their relationship, most of the fans are loving it and the articles are mainly positive. 

 

Of course as soon as he checks his social media he’s bombarded with comments on the pictures, most are positive but of course, there are many that aren’t as...polite. 

 

“Damn, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so many death threats at once.” Louis jokes, trying to bring light to the situation.

 

As soon as he says that Harry starts apologizing profusely. “I’m so sorry, I’ll tell them to stop, I’m so, so sorry.” 

 

Louis leans over the table and ignoring the glares from an old man sitting at a table nearby, kisses Harry, soft and slow. When he pulls back Harry still looks guilty but doesn’t speak up again.

 

“Harry, I don’t care what people say. If being with you means that people will hate me then be it, I don’t care what they think of me as long as you still like me.” Harry seems to be slightly comforted by Louis’ words but still gives Louis an apologetic look. 

 

Their food arrives and they eat quickly, Louis insisting on paying before they leave, ducking out back to get in Harry’s car. The drive to the venue is relatively quick, and when they get there Niall instantly ambushes them, demanding to know every detail.

 

“I knew it! What did I fucking tell you?” Niall yells, running over to the pair excitedly. “Now tell me everything, how did you get from hating each other to making out?”

 

“Did more than make out.” Louis mutters under his breath, apparently louder than he thought because Niall starts coughing loudly, his eyes wide. 

 

“Okay, I did not need to know that. Anyways tell me, did you guys have like an emotional confession of love or did you just start making out?” Both Harry and Louis are blushing by now, awkwardly smiling. 

 

“I mean like, we just kind of...told each other?” Harry looks to Louis unsure of what to tell Niall. 

 

“Yeah like, it was kind of intense.” Louis says, Niall raising an eyebrow at his words. 

 

“So are you guys together now?” 

 

Louis freezes at his question, unsure how to respond Harry luckily answers for them. “Niall, don’t you have something to do?” 

 

“Um, no? I’m literally here to keep you company?” 

 

“Well, leave.” Niall sends a confused look at them but seeing that something clearly isn’t right he thankfully gets the hint and walks off, leaving Harry and Louis alone. 

 

“Well?” Louis looks up to see Harry’s eyes nervously watching him.

 

“What?” Louis asks, knowing exactly what Harry meant. 

 

“Are we together?” Harry spits out the question, his voice higher than usual. 

 

“Do you want us to be?” 

 

“I mean, if you’d take me I’d love to be your boyfriend.” Louis can’t hold back the smile that erupts on his face at Harry’s words and he throws himself into Harry’s arms, hugging him tightly.

 

“Of course you idiot!” Louis pulls back, only to kiss Harry, intense and slightly messy, tasting the chocolate from the scone they had shared for breakfast on Harry’s lips. Harry’s hands tangle into Louis' hair while Louis rests his on Harry’s waist, holding the taller boy against him. 

 

They’re cut off when a loud cough interrupts them, and they pull apart from each other blushing furiously to see Maria smiling at them. 

 

“Now that was lovely but we’ve got a lot of work to do Harry. You need to schedule an interview to confirm your relationship with Louis, I was thinking you could do it during your interview in Hong Kong.” she suggests. 

 

“Is that okay with you, Lou?” Harry asks, turning to face him. Louis nods, honestly he wants everyone to know at this very moment that Harry is his boyfriend but knowing the amount of PR that Harry has to go through for every part of his life he’s willing to wait, as long as in the end he can proudly be Harry’s.

 

“Okay, I’ll make sure that they ask about Louis in the interview, you can take that option to confirm your guys’ relationship. I’ll also see that we get a rep to confirm it to the tabloids before you officially tell everyone.” And with that she’s gone, already calling up Harry’s management as she walks away.

 

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Louis breathes, turning to Harry. 

 

“That what is happening?” 

 

“That I’m here with you and we’re together and well fuck, what more could I need?” Louis winds his arms around Harry’s waist again and rests his head against Harry’s shoulder, inhaling the scent that he can’t help but associate with comfort. Harry rests his chin on the top of Louis’ head hugging Louis even tighter.

 

“I’m so glad that you got this job.” 

 

“I’m so glad that you chose me for this job.”

 

“Okay, now that you two are done being cute can I come back?” Niall’s loud Irish voice breaks the moment but Louis can’t help but smile at the boy who has slowly sneaked back over. “Come on everyone, group hug!” 

 

And as Louis gets smashed between Harry and Niall in an attempt of a group hug which ends up being more of a puppy pile for the first time in a very long while, he truly feels content.

 

**

 

“So tell me, Louis, is it true that you and Harry are dating?” Louis had felt bad because he hadn’t spoken to Liam in a while so he had face-timed him when he had a free minute before the concert in Bangkok. Of course, this is the first thing Liam wants to know.

 

“Yeah, it’s kind of weird to see pictures of me making out with him all over magazine covers if I’m being honest.” To tell the truth, the whole past three days have been weird. His name is everywhere, and as harry hasn’t officially confirmed their relationship to the public there is a lot speculation of whether Louis was just a brief hook-up. 

 

That, in particular, has been seeming to really get on Harry’s nerves. He hates the idea of people thinking Louis was a one-night stand and Louis has had to stop him too many times from confirming their relationship in fits of anger where he just wants everyone to “shut up and see that he plans on being with Louis for a very long time”. 

 

Louis as well has been dealing with a lot, people constantly tweet him about Harry, it’s hard for him to get feedback on his videos because all his comments are about Harry and the death threats have tripled. 

 

It’s to be expected, almost every fan slightly resents the person their idol dates, especially the ones who actually believe they have a chance. People are going after him more than usual as well considering that he’s a guy. There’s been speculation for forever about Harry’s sexuality so the photos of him and Louis weren’t exactly a surprise to most people but for every nice, accepting person there’s a jerk who spends their time calling people names over the Internet. 

 

And then there’s the added factor of possibly every person Louis’ talked to once texting him wanting to get to Harry through him, people trying to re-kindle friendships that were never there only to meet Harry and people casually inviting him to parties, mentioning that he can bring a plus one. It’s annoying, to say the least. 

 

People don’t seem to get that he likes Harry as a person, not as a pop star. A lot of his friends seem to also think he’s just in it for the money or the fame, not understanding when he explains to them that he doesn’t actually care about any of that. 

 

“Mate it’s been weird for me. But actually is it true that he’s an amazing kisser? I read somewhere that he’s one of the top five kissers in the music industry. I don’t think the author had actually made out with any of the people on the list but it was a good read.” Louis can’t help but smile at Liam’s ramblings, he’s forgotten how much he misses home.

 

“He’s an amazing kisser, he’s amazing at everything actually.” Louis says, blushing at the memory of Harry sucking him off in the shower that morning. 

 

“Woah, woah, I don’t care about what you two get up to. As long as he’s treating you right then I’m happy.” 

 

“He has! I told you, he’s absolutely amazing. He’s so sweet and he can always tell when I’m sad and he’s so funny and-” Liam cuts him off with a laugh.

 

“What?” Louis asks indignantly.

 

“You’re so fucking whipped, like this is incredible.” Liam manages to get it out through his laughter, making Louis pout. 

 

“Stop it, ‘m not whipped.” 

 

“That’s a flat out lie and you know it.” This time, it isn’t Liam who interrupts him. Louis looks up to see Niall waltzing into the lounge, holding an apple and looking smug. 

 

“Now I’ve got two people picking on me!” Louis whines while Niall comes to settle down beside Louis, putting himself in the view of the camera. 

 

“Hey, I’m Niall if you don’t know.” Niall says, ignoring Louis and waving at Liam.

 

“Liam, now tell me, is Louis as whipped as he seems?” Liam instantly springs into conversation with Niall, laughing as Niall describes the time Louis had gone to four different stores to find the kind of cheese Harry likes, Louis pouting the entire time and trying to glare at both boys at once. 

 

“And don’t get me started on the pet names.” Louis cuts in there, blushing furiously. 

 

“Fuck off Niall, how did this turn into make fun of Louis day?” 

 

“Who’s being mean to you?” Louis melts just at the sound of the familiar deep voice, turning to see Harry walking over. Harry is gorgeous as always, wearing a baby blue short-sleeved button-up t-shirt (that Louis wears more than Harry honestly) and tight black jeans, his hair is soft and freshly styled and he seems to be glowing with a soft golden light. 

 

Niall’s laugh is what makes him realize that he was staring and he looks down, blushing even harder. 

 

“Niall and Liam are making fun of me.” Louis pouts, scooching over to give Harry room to sit down next to him, automatically dropping his head onto Harry’s shoulder once settled. 

 

“Aw babe, want me to beat them up for you?” Harry asks, turning his head to place a kiss on the top of Louis' head, wrapping his muscular arm around Louis' waist and pulling him closer at the same time. 

 

“Honestly, this is more painful than anything you could do to me.” Niall says, eying them disgusted. 

 

“Agreed, you guys are horrible. You were right Niall, they’re sickening.” Liam adds. 

 

“Ignore them, Lou, they’re just jealous of us.” Harry flips Niall off at the same time, causing both Niall and Liam to burst out laughing, cackling even harder when Louis tries to glare at them, his intimidation slightly ruined by the fact that he doesn’t bother untangling himself from Harry’s arms as he does.

 

**

 

“Are you ready?” It’s five minutes before the interview where Harry is planned to finally confirm their relationship, not that it’s not already obvious. They were caught out together again the day before, so with all of the moments from before and all of the recent pap photos of them there’s basically no doubt in anyone’s mind.  

 

Harry nods in answer Louis’ question, leaning in to kiss Louis gently on the lips. “I can’t wait.”

 

“I’m glad, it’s going to be nice to have everyone know you’re mine.” Louis whispers against Harry’s lips, leaning in for another short, closed mouthed kiss. 

 

They spend the final minutes lazily making out, hands roaming each other's bodies but keeping the kiss from getting too heated as they didn’t want Harry going out looking too messed up. Louis has decided that Harry might be the best kisser in the world, there’s something about the way he kisses that makes Louis melt in his hands. Harry always has a faint, sweet taste, but this time, he tastes overwhelmingly like the coffee he had just had in the morning and Louis’ is addicted. Though he’s more of a tea person, Louis’ pretty sure that it’s the best taste he’s ever had.

 

When a man comes over to tell Harry it’s time, awkwardly interrupting them, Louis walks with Harry over to the stage, hand possessively resting on Harry’s waist and gives him one last kiss before Harry goes on. Louis settles on a couch backstage where he can watch the interview through a screen and watches as Harry walks confidently onstage. 

 

He looks so in his environment, smiling at the live audience, waving and blowing kisses and working the crowd like a pro. He joins the interviewer and shakes her hand before sitting down on the bright red couch and crossing his legs, effortlessly comfortable. 

 

The interview starts out normally, the interviewer has a nice sense of humor, jokes around with Harry about his tour and his fans, the also discuss a prospect of a new album, Harry only gives her a smile and a wink to that, before saying that he’s ‘not allowed to tell’. 

 

“Will we expect any love songs on this new album?” she asks, smirking as Harry blushes red, visible even through the camera. “Any new… inspiration?” 

 

“Well, there is someone.” Harry mumbles, causing the crowd to hoot and Louis’ heart starts racing in excitement. 

 

“Would this perhaps be the person you were caught making out with a little while ago? A certain Youtuber turned make-up artist?” The crowd is going wild as Harry smiles sheepishly.

 

“Yeah, that whole thing wasn’t exactly supposed to happen.” Louis snorts at the memory, which at the time was rather terrifying but now looking back is kind of comical. 

 

“But so is the life of a celebrity, right? Tell me about this boy of yours.” Something in Louis’ stomach flutters when the interviewer refers to him as ‘Harry’s boy’ and he nervously awaits to see what Harry’s going to say.

 

“Louis? He’s absolutely lovely. He’s my best friend as well as being my boyfriend, and honestly being with him makes me the happiest person in the world. We’ve only been together for a little while but he’s just so supportive and he accepts me for everything I am. Especially with everything that comes with being with me he’s just so amazing about it. I couldn't wish for anything more in a partner.” As Harry talks, Louis can feel tears start to well up in his eyes. 

 

He hadn’t realized that Harry had felt like that about him, hearing Harry talk about him so… lovingly makes his heart tighten in his chest.

 

The interviewer smiles fondly at Harry, leaning over to pat his knee. “And he certainly isn't bad looking, eh?” Harry chuckles, nodding his head.

 

“Definitely, of course, it’s not just his looks I’m after for but they certainly don’t hurt, he might be the most attractive person I’ve ever seen but none of that matters, he’s an angel inside out and I couldn’t be luckier to be with him.” Louis can’t help the tears that start spilling out now, he wipes his eyes as he continues to watch as the crowd coos at Harry’s words. 

 

“From the way you talk about him I’m sure he’s lucky to have you, honestly I wish my husband had half the much affection in his voice when he talks about me.” The interviewer jokes. “I can’t wait to hear what comes out of this relationship on your next album, I’m sure it’ll be great.”

 

“I hope so.” 

 

“Thank you so much for being here, I can’t wait to see where you go.” The interview stands up, Harry following suit and shaking her hand. 

 

“Thank you for having me!” Harry smiles, charming as always and Louis can’t stop crying because harry is just so beautiful and fuck. 

 

“Harry Styles everyone!” The interviewer cries as Harry gives a small bow before exiting the stage, Louis running over to greet him. 

 

As soon as Harry is offstage Louis jumps into his arms, wrapping his legs around Harry’s waist and cupping Harry’s cheeks with his hands. Harry stumbles backwards, two steps but recovers, holding Louis up, his hands supporting Louis’ thighs. 

 

“You’re crying!” Harry exclaims in surprise.

 

“Of course, Harry, I can’t believe-what you said about me was just so sweet! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much.” Louis pulls Harry in for a passionate kiss, his tongue parting Harry’s lips and trying to taste every inch of Harry’s mouth, trying to show everything he can’t say. Harry lets Louis take full control of the kiss, taking what Louis gives to him, soft and open, fingers digging into Louis’ thighs and letting out quiet moans as Louis kisses him hard and deep. 

 

Harry moves his hands to cup Louis ass, making Louis gasp slightly into his mouth and tighten his hands in Harry’s hair. 

 

“Excuse me if I’m interrupting anything but I’ve got to talk to you.” Niall’s thick Irish accent brings them back to the fact that they are in fact very much in public

 

Louis awkward gets down from Harry’s arms, coughing awkwardly as Niall smirks at the disgruntled pair. 

 

“Okay mate, I love ya and all but this is unacceptable. Last I checked I was your fucking best mate, not this guy over here.” Niall glares at Harry, crossing his arms but his eyes showing the humor in his words.

 

“Sorry Ni, I still love you.” Harry says, pulling Niall into a hug and pressing a wet kiss to his cheek.

 

“You better buy me dinner for the next year and a half to make up for this.” Niall mutters as Harry continues to cover his face in kisses. 

 

“I’m sorry Niall, you know no one can resist my charm.” Louis beams.

 

“Fuck you, Louis.” Niall flips him off over Harry’s shoulder causing Louis to burst out laughing. 

 

“Love you too.” 

 

“Harry, your boyfriend is annoying me.” Niall whines, giving Harry his best puppy-dog eyes. 

 

“Sorry Niall, that’s your problem.” Harry replies, before walking over to Louis and grabbing his hand. “Come on let’s go.” 

 

“Bye Niall!” Louis calls over his shoulder as Harry leads him off, laughing as Niall gives him a failed attempt of a death glare as Louis blows him a kiss.

 

The last thing he hears before exiting the building is Niall yelling “You’re lucky you’re cute, Tommo!” 

 

**

 

“Fuck, I don’t know what I should wear!” Louis is currently tearing apart his entire suitcase full of clothes while Liam watches, amused. 

 

The Asian leg of the tour had finished up well, it’s been a little over a week from the interview and though there is definitely a fair share of hate, the main response has been amazing. Harry hasn’t hesitated to start dedicating songs to Louis during shows, and every time he does the crowd (and Louis) goes wild. Signs about Louis have started popping up at shows, and after Harry showed up briefly in Louis’ last video his fans as well have started shipping them like crazy. 

 

Harry and Louis had flown back to London together (in Harry’s private jet, which Louis took plenty of pictures in to show to his friends) and being honest Louis has spent more nights over at Harry’s than at his own flat. 

 

“Where are you guys going?” Liam asks as Louis holds up a pale blue shirt.

 

“I don’t know, it’s his surprise. He said to dress nicely, though.” Harry had approached Louis that morning and demanded that they go on a proper date. Because of their busy tour schedule with promo and interviews they hadn’t had time to do more than get coffee together or go out for breakfast. 

 

“God, you two are so cute it makes me sick.” Liam groans, as Louis pulls off the tank top he’s currently wearing and pulls on the blue shirt, buttoning it up and fixing the collar before turning around.

 

“Is this cute?” 

 

“That shirt looks great on you. Harry will think that whatever you wear is perfect and you know that so stop worrying Lou.” Louis sighs but grabs his blazer and pulls it on over the shirt, fixing his fringe in the mirror and taking a deep breath.

 

He spends the next fifteen minutes on his phone, nervously changing between apps. When his doorbell rings he jumps up from his bed so quickly he trips over his own feet and stumbles into his doorframe, Liam cracking up behind him.

 

“Shut up.” Louis grumbles, making his way to the front door, rubbing his bumped shoulder. 

 

“You’re such a wreck, mate.” Liam laughs, following Louis out of his room.

 

Louis ignores him and takes a breath, opening the door to reveal Harry. As soon as Louis sees Harry, he’s completely blown away. Harry’s in a nice black blazer with a crisp white shirt underneath, his soft brown hair curling over his shoulders, and pushed around perfectly. He seems to be glowing, his smile radiant and his bright green eyes crinkling up just a bit at the corners. 

 

“Hi.” Louis smiles, as Harry steps forwards, placing a quick peck on Louis’ cheek. “You look lovely.”

 

“Thank you, you look gorgeous as well.” Harry says, walking into Louis flat, waving once he sees Liam. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you in real life!” 

 

“You too, you’re… taller than I thought.” Liam says, clearly slightly starstruck. 

 

“Thanks, I guess? I mean I’m standing next to Louis so I look tall just by comparison.” Louis lets out a protest at that.

 

“Hey, I’m not short thank you very much!” Louis pouts petulantly. 

 

“Sure mate, I’ll let you two go now, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t secretly an axe murderer.” Liam says, settling back down on Louis’ couch.

 

“You never know, I could have a chainsaw in my trunk.” Harry jokes. 

 

“Not sure if that would be a very good career choice honestly, I don’t think a murder conviction will help album sales.” Liam points out, clearly more comfortable with Harry now and over his initial awe. 

 

“Come on Harry let's go before Liam seduces you.” Louis interjects, taking Harry’s hand and grabbing his keys with the other. “Don’t ruin my flat while I’m gone!” he yells to Liam over his shoulder before leading harry out and closing the door behind them.

 

“Liam seems like a nice guy.” Harry muses as they wait for the elevator.

 

“Yeah, he’s like a brother to me honestly, now want to tell me where we’re going?” The elevator opens up and the step inside, Louis pressing the ground floor button.

 

“Nope. It’s a surprise I told you.” Harry says smugly.

 

“Will there be paps?” Louis asks, trying not to sound anxious at the thought of being mobbed again.

 

“Hopefully not, I’ve been to this place many times before and never gotten papped. There’s a way to get in from the back which will hopefully make it so that they can’t find us.” Harry says, Louis visibly relaxing and squeezing Harry's hand gently.  

 

“That’s good, want you all to myself tonight.” Louis goes up on his tip-toes to whisper in Harry’s ear, relishing in the way Harry shivers. “Could do without their prying eyes.” He gives Harry’s earlobe a nip before dropping back down.

 

Harry glares at him good-naturedly. “Don’t be such a tease.” Louis only smirks at him, the elevator doors opening up and the pair exiting, slipping out and hurrying into Harry’s car. 

 

When Harry starts driving Louis tries to make out where they’re going and though he tries his hardest to get Harry to tell him Harry refuses, saying that it’s a surprise. The drive is relatively short, maybe twenty minutes and Harry pulls into an underground parking lot, something that looks suspiciously fancy. 

 

“Are we having dinner in a government base?” Louis asks, getting out of the car and looking around. The cars parked all seem to cost more than Louis’ flat and he’s kind of intimidated by all of the money. 

 

“No, this is just so that we don’t get papped.” Harry takes Louis hand and leads him into an elevator. When the doors open up Louis lets out an audible gasp.

 

The restaurant could belong in a palace honestly, chandeliers, flower arrangements, crisp white tablecloths, candles are lit around the room causing a soft glow and there’s soft ambient piano music making the whole scene look like it was taken out of a movie. Harry leads him over to the hostess and just by seeing him her eyes light up in recognition and leads them through the room, out a big door and out onto a small balcony. 

 

There’s only one table, and the balcony overlooks the city, the view breathtakingly beautiful, cars only small lights down below and Louis has to pause for a moment just to take it all in.

 

“Harry, this is incredible!” he breaths, sitting down at the table across from Harry. 

 

“Was it worth the surprise?” Harry asks, beaming.

 

“Definitely, this is just… wow. I can’t believe this, you’re so wonderful Harry, really.” Louis leans over the table to give Harry a soft kiss, caressing Harry’s carefully styled hair with one hand.

 

“I’m glad you like it.” 

 

The waiter brings them both water and they quickly order drinks, before settling into an easy conversation. The rest of the meal in wonderful, the food is amazing as expected and by the end Louis’ possibly the happiest person in the world. 

 

Louis offers to pay but Harry insists, Louis vowing to pay for the next date and the once again slip out from the parking lot.

 

“Back to yours?” Louis asks as soon as they get into the car. Harry nods, smiling and reaches over to take Louis’ hand with one of his. 

 

They drive the rest of the way to Harry’s like that, holding hands and singing along to the radio. When one of Harry’s songs comes on Louis belts out every lyric, Harry blushing and trying to shush him. 

 

“Maybe in a years' time it’ll be songs about me playing on the radio.” Louis muses, after Harry’s song is over. 

 

“Maybe.” Harry agrees, his dimple appearing along with a blush. 

 

They pull up to Harry’s house and quickly bustle inside. As soon as they get in Louis sheds his blazer and shoes, before turning to Harry, whose eyes are suddenly dark, hungry. Louis gulps, as Harry approaches him, walking forwards to meet him and wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck pulling the taller boy down to meet him.

 

“Been waiting for this all night.” Harry whispers before closing the gap between them, lips demanding and possessive. Harry tastes of the apple tart they had shared and Louis happily licks all over Harry’s mouth, hands tightening in Harry’s hair. 

 

Louis pushes Harry gently back until Harry’s pressed against the wall, lips and tongues moving in a frantic dance for dominance. When Harry grabs Louis ass, digging his nails, Louis lets out a groan of Harry’s name into Harry’s mouth. In one quick decision Harry leads Louis to the bedroom, and falls backward onto the bed, Louis climbing over him and leaning in to continue the kiss. 

 

“Can I take your clothes off?” Louis mumbles, leaning away to catch his breath after a moment.

 

Harry nods and quickly sits up to shrug off his blazer, tossing it into a corner as Louis works off each button, pulling off the last few with one quick tug when he gets impatient and throws the shirt over his shoulder as well. Louis quickly gets his shirt off as well and pulls off his slacks and briefs, leaving himself naked as Harry pulls off his as well, revealing his already hard cock, leaking onto his toned stomach as he lies back down on the bed.

 

Louis groans at the sight and gives himself a few quick strokes, before climbing back onto of Harry.

 

“Want to mark you up.” Louis growls, before leaning down and starting to suck a mark on Harry’s neck. Harry hisses when Louis nips him softly, letting Louis’ name tumble out of his lips as Louis works another love bite onto his collar bone. 

 

Louis continues to move down, leaving a trail down Harry’s throat and chest before stopping to leave one final one on Harry’s hipbone. When he looks up he can’t help but feel proud of his work, Harry’s covered in marks, marks that Louis left proving that Harry is his and that makes Louis happier than it should. 

 

By this time Harry is painfully hard, and when Louis places a feather-light kiss on the very tip he lets out a long moan.

 

“Please, Lou.” Harry’s voice is slightly broken and raspy as he uncontrollably bucks his hips up, begging for contact. 

 

“Patience Hazza.” Louis murmurs before taking Harry into his mouth, wrapping one hand around the base and playing with Harry’s balls with the other. He works up a rhythm between his mouth and his hand and soon he can feel Harry straining to come. He pulls off, taking a deep breath.

 

“You’re amazing.” Harry praises, leaning over to grab a bottle of lube and a condom from a drawer. “Wanna fuck you now.” 

 

Louis nods breathless at the thought, impatiently.

 

Harry starts to open Louis up, adding fingers until he’s fucking Louis with three, brushing Louis’ prostate and Louis’ almost sure he’s going to come on just Harry’s fingers alone. 

 

“Need more.” Louis breathes out. “Want to ride you.” 

 

“Fuck, of course.” Harry stutters, stroking himself a few times before rolling on the condom. After adding more lube Louis positions himself over Harry’s cock. Inch by inch he lowers himself down until he’s fully seated, breaths ragged. 

 

Louis slowly starts to move, first only grinding his hips down into Harry’s in a small circle before picking himself up and sinking back down, letting his head fall back in a raspy moan. 

 

“Fuck Louis, you’re so hot like this.” Harry groans, digging his fingers into Louis’ hips.

 

Louis continues to ride Harry, his thigh muscles straining as he fucks himself on Harry’s cock, setting a slow, deep rhythm, savoring every second. He finally gets the right angle and the tip of Harry’s cock hits his prostate directly sending sparks up his spine. 

 

“Fuck, fuck Harry.” Louis cries, his voice high-pitched as he continues to hit the spot, again and again, losing control as his orgasm starts to build. 

 

When his legs start to shake Harry grabs his hips and fucks up into him, within seconds Louis feels Harry start to pulse inside of him and Harry lets out a shattered groan as he comes. Louis reaches down and with two strokes he comes with a shout, muscles clenching and his eyes blacking out for a second before collapsing onto Harry’s chest in a post-orgasm haze. 

 

Louis lets Harry push him off and watches Harry throw out the condom and grab a flannel from a chair. When Harry comes back over he gently wipes down Louis, stroking his hair at the same time. Louis almost purrs at the touch, pushing up into the contact. 

 

Louis can hear Harry chuckle as he crawls into bed next to Louis. “You’re so cuddly after sex.” 

 

Louis ignores him and just curls up even closer to Harry, wrapping an arm around the boy and pulling him closer to give him a tiny kiss. Harry wraps himself around Louis starts to drift off, safe and warm in Harry’s arms. Harry places a kiss on the top of Louis’ head and whispers “Goodnight.” into his hair. 

 

Just as he’s falling asleep he hears one last thing. Harry’s words almost too quiet to hear, and Louis’ not even sure if he said them at all. 

 

“I love you.” 

 

Louis instantly jerks back awake,  trying not to show Harry that he’s not asleep but trying to figure out if he heard him correctly. But he doesn’t have to try because again the words leave Harry’s mouth.

 

“I love you.” Louis feels a kiss being pressed to his forehead and then another.

 

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” With each ‘I love you’ Harry presses another kiss to Louis’ forehead, unaware of the fact that Louis is very much awake. 

 

Louis’ heart is racing. Harry loves him. Harry is in love with him. He’s in love with Harry. And fuck, there it is. Louis is in love with the guy that Lottie has up on her wall, the guy that just two months ago he had just thought was another annoying indie musician whose songs were overrated and overplayed. Louis is in love with his best friend, his best friend who's managed to completely transform his life and who he owes everything to. And fuck it, Louis Tomlinson is in love with Harry Styles.

It doesn’t matter whether Harry has a billion fans or one, Louis is in love with him and he is in love with Louis and it doesn’t matter that Harry is on the cover of every magazine because right now, he’s in Louis’ arms. 

 

So this time when Harry leans down to kiss Louis forehead Louis shifts to meet their mouths together and lock their eyes. And in Harry’s shocked silence Louis whispers four, over thought out words.

 

“I love you too.”

  
  



	8. Epilogue

_ 3 years later _

 

“Hazza you ready?” Harry looks up from his phone to see Louis walking into their bedroom. Yes, their bedroom. After being together for a year they had decided to move in together because they would always spend the nights together anyways. As Harry’s flat was definitely bigger Louis had moved in with him and Harry has never been happier.

 

Slowly over the past two years, his flat has transformed, bits of Louis everywhere, from a framed picture of Louis’ family next to the one of Harry’s to the wall Louis had decided to paint bright purple one day because why not? 

 

And finally, the empty corner of Harry’s corkboard is now filled. It had started when Louis spent an hour doodling on a scrap of paper during one of their business meetings and Harry loved it so much he had decided to hang it up. When he pinned it up in the deserted corner it seemed to just work, so it officially becomes their corner. 

 

It’s now filled with pictures of them from all over the world, and some of just them hanging out. A polaroid picture Harry had sneakily taken of Louis curled up asleep one Sunday afternoon, a selfie that they had taken on their one year anniversary, the photo of Harry getting a full spa treatment from Louis’ little sisters, complete with a face mask and a mani-pedi, slowly but surely they’re running out of room, an overflowing amount of pictures and memories. 

 

Louis’ whole family has fallen in love with Harry, especially Louis’ sisters. At first, they were a little skeptical about the whole ‘Louis dating a pop star’ thing but after one dinner with Harry, they were all completely endeared. Lottie, of course, was extremely excited to meet Harry, and as they had already talked a few times before once meeting face-to-face they instantly clicked. Now Lottie and Harry have become best friends, Lottie getting to know him not as the guy on the radio but Harry, her brother’s goofy, charming boyfriend. 

 

“Yup, you?” Harry asks getting up and stretching. They’re about to head to the restaurant they had their first date at for their third anniversary, the restaurant being saved for only the most important events.

 

“Yeah, you look gorgeous.” Louis walks over and kisses Harry gently, letting his lips linger for a moment longer before wrapping his arm around Harry and leading him out their door. 

 

As soon as they walk out the paps go wild. Harry’s manager had talked to Harry and with his reluctant permission, tipped off the paps that Harry and Louis would be going for dinner that night. For once Harry doesn’t mind much because he kind of wants people to see him like this, makes sure everyone knows just how much he’s in love with the stubborn, loud-mouthed, beautiful boy next to him. 

 

They get into their car, Louis driving this time and quickly head over to the restaurant where they’re ushered directly to their usual table, out on the balcony. When Harry had first brought Louis here he had been terrified, terrified that Louis didn’t actually like him and that he only wanted him for his money and his name. Of course looking back that thought that he would ever think that about Louis is insane.

 

Louis, in fact, tries so hard to prove he isn’t after Harry’s money at all. He pays his share of everything, from the bills to the dates, and hates when Harry buys him excessively expensive items. And of course, he spoils Harry rotten. Anything Harry wants Louis will try to buy for him, and even though usually, Harry could easily afford to buy it himself Louis insists on paying for it himself. 

 

“People on Twitter already know we’re here.” Louis notes once they’re seated. 

 

“Well, fans can’t exactly get here without a reservation.” That’s the thing Harry loves about the restaurant, because of its prestige fans can’t just flood the restaurant looking for them.

 

“Can they get photos from the ground?” Louis asks, looking over the balcony to try and see if fans will be able to see them. 

 

“No, pretty sure we’re too high up.” Harry reassure Louis, reach over the table to take Louis hand, stroking the back of Louis’ hand with his thumb in small circles, a habit which calms both of them down. That’s the other that’s changed over the years, as they’ve been together longer and longer they’ve started to figure each other out, find the little things that the other loves, or hates. Every day Harry’s with Louis he still learns something new, though, every day is an adventure and Harry wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 

Louis pulls Harry’s hand up and presses a kiss to the back, mumbling a soft ‘love you’ into the skin. 

 

“You know that Vogue UK wants us to do a photo shoot for them.” Harry suddenly exclaims having just remembered. It’s not the first offer they’ve gotten for couples photo shoots, they’re possibly the most popular celebrity couple of the time. 

 

Everyone’s completely fallen in love with them, especially Louis who has become beloved by the general public, having broken out from being just Harry Styles’ boyfriend to his own public figure. From walking red carpets together to just going grocery shopping they’re somewhat of a dream team. 

 

“Oh really? Did you say that we’ll do it?” The waiter brings them their waters, takes their drink orders, awkwardly stumbling over his words when Louis smiles at him. Harry doesn’t blame him, Louis’ attention is intoxicating. 

 

Once the waiter is gone Harry continues the conversation.

 

“I wanted to ask you first.” 

 

“Of course, I’ll do it, when would this be?” Louis asks excitedly. Even after years of being with Harry he still gets slightly starstruck by the celebrity lifestyle. 

 

“I think in about two months, I’ll talk to my manager and I’ll find the exact details.” Harry can’t help but be endeared by Louis’ attempt to hold back his excitement. 

 

“Stop making that face.” Louis whines, crossing his arms and glaring at Harry. 

 

“What face?” Harry asks.

 

“The one where you’re thinking about how adorable I am.” Harry chuckles at that because Louis can read him so well it’s scary.

 

“Then you have to stop being adorable.” Harry leans across the table to boop Louis’ nose. Louis nips the tip of Harry’s finger playfully and grabs Harry’s wrist. 

 

“Stop, ‘m not adorable, you’re just annoying.” Louis insists, letting Harry’s hand go and leaning back in his chair, trying to look dignified. 

 

“Sure, sure whatever you say.” The waiter comes and takes their order, Louis getting a baked salmon and Harry getting a soup. They keep up a light conversation, starting to plan out their move, brainstorming the color scheme and layout. They’ve been planning to move lately, wanting someplace a little bigger. Someplace big enough for a family. They’ve been talking a lot about kids, nothing serious but little musings. Like they’ll be in a thrift store and Harry will see a chair that would look perfect in a kid’s room. Or when Harry found his old stuffed dog Louis made an offhand comment about how ‘you could pass it down to our kids’. 

 

Harry wants nothing more than to have a family with Louis, of course, it’s a little early to start thinking about kids but it’s ever too early to dream. Their food arrives and they settle into a comfortable quiet, only the occasional comment about how good the food is or asking for a bite of the others'. They finish their meal and the waiter has just taken away their plates when it happens. 

 

Louis clears his throat and folds his napkin, placing it on the table before standing up.

 

“What are you-” Harry cuts himself off when Louis gets down on one knee pulling out a small velvet black box. “Louis are you-” Harry whispers, his heart racing.

 

Louis beams up at Harry and opens the box to reveal a ring. Harry can’t breathe but it’s in the best way as Louis starts.

 

“Harry Edward Styles, I love you more than anyone or anything else in this world and there’s nothing more I want than to spend every last moment of my life by your side. Will you marry me?” Harry nods even before Louis finishes, eyes brimming with tears.

 

“Yes, yes! Of course!” Harry jumps up from his chair and when Louis stands up he pulls him into a crushing hug. 

 

“I love you so much.” Louis whispers into Harry’s ear before pulling Harry into a kiss, slow and sweet, letting his hands rest gently on Harry’s cheeks. Harry smiles into the kiss, trying to show just how much he loves Louis with every movement. 

 

When they pull apart Louis gently takes Harry’s hand and slips on the ring. Harry can’t help but admire the way it looks on his finger. The ring itself is gorgeous, a thin silver band with a trail of tiny diamonds in the middle, simple but elegant. It glitters slightly in the candlelight and Harry is mesmerized by the light reflecting off the stones. 

 

“Do you like it?” Louis’ nervous question brings him back and he looks up to see Louis eying him anxiously.

 

“Of course Lou, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Harry pulls Louis in for another kiss, murmuring ‘I love you’ again and again. 

 

“I’m glad, Gemma and Niall actually helped me pick it out.” 

 

Harry raises his eyebrows in shock. “Really? I can’t believe you got Niall to keep it a secret.” 

 

“Yeah, I told him that if he told you Gemma and I would come and beat him up.” Louis explains.

 

Harry chuckles at that, imagining Niall’s face when he heard that. “I know that this is stupid but I actually have a ring for you.” Harry had bought the ring three months ago, he had found it in a thrift store and as soon as he saw it he knew he wanted it for Louis. The ring has a delicate silver band, engraved with tiny leaves, each leaf set with one emerald and two diamonds and it was perfect for Louis. 

 

Harry had been saving it for the perfect time, waiting for when it felt right so it’s stayed hidden in the very bottom of his sock drawer, the one item of clothing Louis won't borrow from him, therefore making sure it was kept secret. 

 

“Really? I beat you to it now didn’t I?” Louis leans in for a quick peck, uncontrollably smiling against Harry’s lips. 

 

“Yup, let’s go home and I’ll get it for you.” Harry takes Louis hand and they leave, Harry having his credit card already hooked up to automatically pay for their meal. As they leave Harry catches the eye of an older lady who points to her ring finger and mouths ‘congratulations’, and as they walk past the hostess she also gives him a knowing smile. 

 

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Harry breathes as soon as they get in the elevator. 

 

“I can’t believe that I’m lucky enough to have you.” Louis replies, wrapping his arm around Harry and pulling him against his side. Harry has to take a moment to just think about how lucky he is, he’s got a career doing what he loves the most, and he’s got the most wonderful boyfriend - no, fiancé to experience it with him. And in five years if everything stays on track he’ll have a husband and maybe even kids, a family of his own. 

 

Later that night once Harry gives Louis his ring they take two photos, one of Harry’s left hand and the other of Louis’. And when they post the photos their captions are simple.

 

@harrystyles: He asked.

 

@louist91: He said yes.

  
  



End file.
